Chasing Once More
by Lunar Wave
Summary: Peace has finally come to Bermesiah and its surrounding continents. Each of the Grand Chase has gone their separate ways. But now as Darkness once more arises, the Chase must gather and start chasing once more.
1. Prologue

**Chasing Once More **by Lunar Wave

Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase.

**Prologue**

I am the Knight Master of the Grand Chase… Or used to be, at least. Now I spend my time in the service of the Queen of Serdin. The Grand Chase is now disbanded, as peace has finally come to the world. Kaze'aze defeated, Thanatos no longer wanting to dominate the world with his powers as the Ascendant God, and all sorts of defeats of the enemies from other continents including Archimedia and Alcubra. There were more, but I'd rather not name them now.

Elesis Sieghart, the former leader of the said group, is now, once more, leading the Ruby Knights of Kanavan and teaching them the arts of the sword. I had once visited Elesis in her camp. The savior said that she was getting bored of doing nothing but teach, but I can't help notice that she seemed to be enjoying the change of pace. The only bad news is that her father has not yet been returned.

Closer back home in Serdin, Arme had been promoted to being the Guild Master of the Violet Mages. The violet girl was shocked but she was also elated at the prospect of her new level in power. However, this kept her at the Guild, not allowing her to leave. She didn't seem to mind. I try to avoid visiting her as much as possible as she has a tendency to be experimenting when I come by, and I can't help the feeling that I'll be the one who will try it out.

Eryuell Island is a long way off, but I know Lire is doing well. Though only in rumors, I heard that because she is the first and currently the only Nova of the Island, she was promoted to the head officer of the Elven Corps. Of course the Council of Eryuell is still higher than her in ranks, but she is perfect for the role. I also heard that she was also a teacher of the bow. As many know, archers are powerful, but it takes years of training to be able to fight with it efficiently like Lire.

Lass, if I recall correctly, is doing well all the way in Ellia. After all, he is the current leader of the Silver Cross Town's Assassin Guild. No one knows what he is doing, as I myself have never been there. But the occasional letters addressed to Arme is telling them that he is doing alright. I had to laugh at why would Lass send the letters specifically to Arme, but I just shrugged it off.

Ronan is still the Royal Guard Master, but since the times have entered a state of peace, only the occasional thievery done by desperate or thrill-seeking people kept him occupied. The queen was not threatened by anything, but as Royal Guard Master, he had to stay ever vigilant. The only things that he does that is outside his work is probably sleeping and visiting Elesis at the training grounds. Gone were the days that free knights like Elesis is ignored by the Royal Guard. Now everyone of the Royal Guard would at least know the Ruby Knights. Especially since Ronan was actively courting Elesis.

Ryan, still a resident of the Elven Forest, is, as Magnus Dan had chosen him as his successor, is the highest ranking warrior of the Druids, and is keeping the peace of the forest. The forest, as he said, is not exactly the most peaceful place, but it is his home. The tree-hugging Druid is still stopping Trolls from harming the elven village in the forest. I visited him once or twice, and he was proving to still be the bright prank-loving Sentinel I have met.

Jin is spending his time trying to revive the Silver Knights. He spends his time training new members of the Silver Knights, with the occasional help coming from the latest Starlet of Xenia. He was doing well, as far as I'm concerned. The trainee Fighters are doing well, he says in his latest letters. But apparently, they're not good enough yet for the level of Shisa.

Now, it's Amy that I feel much more worried about. She travels around the world, doing performances in the places she visit. In her last letter, she said she's doing great, but I can't help but worry for the youngest female of the group. She had a penchant for being really klutzy when she's doing something important. I won't know where to contact her if I needed to. Oh well.

Sieghart? Well, he is at Kanavan, acting like a king. Mari is probably with him. Mari is probably one of the only people who can get him up, since she will always use him for experiments and such. Not always happy days for him. He also visits the Ruby Knights occasionally, just to help the teaching of the new knights.

As I had said before, Mari is with Sieghart in Kanavan. She is currently doing experiments with technology and the like. I heard she had installed a… umm… defense mechanism to the Kanavan Castle. Sorry… I don't know much about how you call that big dish with the stick in the middle and is apparently sending waves of… umm… I forgot… She had also apparently added a… loudspeaker? Was that what you call those odd cones that when someone from the… uh… reception room... speaks into, a part of the city or the whole city will hear. Agh! I just don't know about her.

Dio, Zero, and Ley? I have no clue where they are… But Dio does occasionally drop a letter or two from somewhere I don't know. Zero is a Wanderer, so like Amy, I can never tell where he is, and I would have no clue how to contact him if I needed to. Ley… Well she also drops the occasional letter, but not one of the three fighters has shown their faces. They're all doing well, I hope.

All in all, the whole of Grand Chase had gone their separate ways. But that's because they had finally reached the peaceful era that the Grand Chase had been working for. With Kaze'Aze's defeat, people had loved the Grand Chase. But now… maybe… they'll soon be forgotten.

Everything is fine. Everything is peaceful. Everything is simply… too perfect to last.

**(Unknown Area)**

A crumbled castle had come to view from within the Darkness. The castle had fallen long ago. What it was supposed to be, no one knows either. All people knew was it had been there for years. From within the halls, the throne room appeared. Except it wasn't much of a room. It looks as if it was to fall soon, and no one knew how it stayed that way when the rest of the castle had collapsed.

Three figures appeared in the throne room. One was mostly purple and orange, holding a sword. Another was hooded, a white mask that spoke of evil on its face, and a staff in his bony hands. The last one did not appear to have shape. Like a mist, it flew around.

"… You have grown weak and stupid." The purple one addressed the mist.

"That is not what I wish to hear from you, Gardosen." The purple mist angrily yelled at the purple swordsman. "Is everything ready for my revival?"

"The Lich has promised to help revive you, but we must prepare you to be strong enough to handle a bunch of meddling teenagers. You were defeated by six teenagers, and none of them at their fourth jobs." Gardosen replied. "Now they have become thirteen, and each one of them is powerful."

"No need to remind me, Gardosen." The mist snarled. "This Lich should do its best or otherwise he won't get what he wants."

"He is doing this for power." Gardosen replied. "He is willing to help us unleash the other creatures of the dead that _they_ have defeated as long as we help him with the energy."

"The group doesn't exist anymore however. The group had disbanded long ago, if I recall correctly."

"This will be the third month they have had." Gardosen nodded.

"Well, how long will this resurrection work, Lich?"

"Seven months, my liege." The Lich replied. "For me to be able to restore you to double your original power, I'll need at least that much."

"I'm generous, Lich. Take as much time to make my power triple."

"That will take a full year at least." The Lich replied. The darkness gave a sign of approval. It then moved to the top of the castle.

"… This peace that they feel… It is too quiet." The darkness laughed. "But maybe, your lives, each and every one of them, will be destroyed by my hand, even as I am now."

"Lady Kaze'aze!" The Lich called. "We may now begin your return to your true and powerful form."

"Excellent…" Kaze'aze's mist moved back in. That night is what caused the peaceful era to be over.

**Chapter End**

And there you have it, my first Fanfic regarding GC. I'm not like most people who stick to one community. I have a tendency to jump around. Well, review and stay alerted. Oh and as you may notice, I jump around 1st Person and 3rd Person depending on the situation.


	2. Peaceful Era

**Chasing Once More**

Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase

**The Peaceful Era**

"WAKE UP, SIEGHART." A monotonic yet loud voice woke the Gladiator in a rush. Sieghart looked at the source of the voice with utter annoyance. Mari was standing right next to his bed, holding a megaphone.

"… What is it this time, Mari? If it's for no reason, I'll rage." Sieghart glared. As everyone should know by now, SIeghart likes his naps.

"I want you to help me with the electric generator. It is getting a bit old so I needed to replace them."

"… Fine." Sieghart stood up. The electric fan on his bedside wouldn't work if the electric generator were busted. But Sieghart still groaned at the need to stand up.

Mari had done so many innovations in technology that they had to be replaced almost daily for their updates. Mari was starting to talk about an air conditioning unit when the electric fan was only made yesterday. Sieghart had no clue what an air conditioning unit is, but it sounded like it'll be great for him. Mari had said it would be like an open fridge, after all. If it was a week, no, three days ago, he wouldn't know what the hell a refrigerator is. Then again, Mari is still researching her memories for the possibilities.

Mari is really bringing around a generation of new technology, and Sieghart is enjoying every single one of them. She apparently got her ideas from Kounat, but Sieghart wasn't really too sure.

The two started walking down the hallway, bowing to the queen on the way, and went to the electric generator in the basement. Unlike most electric generators, this one runs on either magic or strength, which was the reason why it had to be visited every day for replenishing. There is a recharge crystal for magic, and as for archers, there is a target attached to a lever that if hit, it will spin and recharge it as well.

Replacing electric generators weren't that troublesome for Sieghart. All he needed to do was connect some dangerous wiring and a bunch of other normally deadly stuff if you're not immortal. Then he took a hammer and filled himself with rage for the need to wake up every day for this. He smashed the hammer fueled with his rage onto a plate and the recharge meter went sky high. The bell rang and a box on the top was open. It revealed a pillow.

"Yay." Sieghart yawned, taking the pillow back to his bed. So that's where Mari hid his pillow.

**(Ruby Knights)**

"Ok, everyone, rest." Elesis said. After a long and apparently gruesome amount of training, all of her cadets were dead tired.

"… Finally…" one of her knights sighed, as she collapsed on the spot. Elesis sighed. She was glad of the peace, but the knights were starting to get too lax because of it. A sudden knock came from the door. Elesis immediately took the initiative to open it. Upon seeing a familiar face, she immediately tried to close the door. However, the boy placed his foot in to stop the door's progress.

"Must this be how you greet me every day, Elesis?" A blue-haired boy pulled at the door and caused it to open despite Elesis's own arm strength. What met her eyes was the smiling grin that Ronan immediately employed to get her attention. "May I come in?"

"And if I say no?"

"Then that would be a real shame." Ronan grinned. 'but then again, I could do with staying outside for a long time if I have to." Elesis just sighed and allowed the door to be completely opened. Ronan entered the room and greeted the Ruby Knights.

"Hello, everyone, how's your training?" What he received was a horde of negative replies, with only a few positives. Ronan laughed as he looked back at Elesis. "Seriously, Elesis, do you really have to work them to death?"

"The peaceful era won't last forever, Ronan." Elesis replied. "And, Samsara forbid, it does end; I want them to be ready."

"But you still need to loosen up! Relax a bit." Ronan smiled. Ronan then pulled out a bouquet of flowers. "Here's just the thing for you to relax." Elesis sighed and accepted it. She then smiled at Ronan.

"To be honest Ronan, just stop giving me flowers. You're gonna lose all your money!"

"I have enough." Ronan replied. "So shall we move out for a bit for some fresh air?"

"I don't think so, sir Royal Guard Master." Elesis wagged her finger. "I still need to heighten their endurance. I don't want them to fall like they just did in front of the enemy."

"Thankfully enough, Elesis, I can do just that." A voice suddenly echoed. The Ruby Knights immediately stood up to bow to the new guest.

"Welcome, Master Sieghart." The group chorused.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that, Red." Sieghart grinned. "Maybe the two of us could work together in training them?"

"Not a chance. You'll just end up lazing around because apparently, you HATE training." Elesis said coolly. Then she noticed the disappointed looks among her pupils. "But then again, I WAS planning on doing shopping…"

"I'll help!" Ronan immediately said. Sieghart was about to protest, but seeing the Ruby Knights delight at the idea; he couldn't help but succumb to it.

"No, I'll go alone. Go back to your castle and guard it like you SHOULD be doing."

"… Ok." Ronan sighed. Then he grinned. "That WOULD be a good idea, if it wasn't my day-off~" Elesis sighed.

"Then please help Sieghart train the Knights. How he ended up here I have no clue, but he'll eventually start dozing in the corner" Elesis snorted.

"You know me well!" Sieghart grinned.

"Remember, Tsurugi over there is already a Sword Master, so if you need anything, just ask him." Elesis hopped out of the training room."

"So… Tsurugi… what are we supposed to do again?" Ronan and Sieghart immediately said simultaneously. This is why the Ruby Knights like it when the two are the substitute teachers. They had absolutely no clue what they were going to do.

**(Kanavan Entrance)**

"It's been a long time since I've last been in Kanavan!" An orange haired male elf stood in front of the entrance, grinning so completely that it is difficult to say that the boy was a foe. And there is an added reason why Kanavan was not cautious around him. It was Ryan, the Vanquisher, a member of the Grand Chase. Ryan immediately took a notice of the place. He saw the Yellow and Red Rangers going off in all directions, searching for any problems. He then saw Elesis with a shopping bag.

"Ooh! Elesis! I didn't know you did shopping~" Ryan immediately teased.

"Oh, Ryan. I didn't know you didn't know I have to eat!" Elesis replied, feigning shock. Ryan just laughed.

"So how's it been?" Ryan immediately asked.

"Same old same old. Mari still making odd innovations that simply does not make sense, Ronan still visiting me on his very often day-off, and Sieghart just being Sieghart." Elesis grinned. Ryan nodded. Then he jumped onto a post.

"Kanavan has really changed a lot! What's with all the cones?"

"Apparently it's for emergency purposes. If the city was, for example, attacked by bandits, Mari can alert us through that." Elesis shrugged. Then suddenly said cones went off.

"Attention, Sieghart, please return to the castle. There appears to be a problem."

"… It's used for that too?" Ryan asked. "For calling Sieghart home?"

"I swear, Mari shouldn't abuse that thing so much." Elesis sighed.

"Do you think Sieghart will go back to the castle just because he was called?"

"Not in the slightest unless…"

"Sieghart, please return immediately." Mari's voice called out again. "Our preparations for Elesis and Ronan's Wedding will be delayed if you don't." That triggered several lights. A sudden cheer of joy chorused. However, Elesis was none too pleased.

"… MARI!" Elesis pulled out her Ssanggeom and charged for the castle. Unbeknownst to her, Ryan was accidentally caught by one of the blades, and was hanging on for dear life.

"Well, this was worth the trip." Ryan mumbled.

**(Castle)**

Unexpectedly, or was it expectedly? Either way, the one who arrived first was Sieghart.

"What wedding preparations?" Sieghart demanded. Mari just shrugged.

"The electric generator needs fixing." Mari replied. Then she added, "Again."

"You seriously need to find a better alternative for that thing." Sieghart commented grudgingly. As he was about to move down to the basement, a sudden blur of orange and green hit him. He immediately toppled over. Apparently, the sudden stop Elesis did right in front of Mari caused Ryan to fly off the blade.

"There must be a better way to move around town…" Ryan grumbled, rubbing his head.

"… What's the big idea, wolfie?" Sieghart grumbled as he stood up.

"Hmm… A self-moving cart will be good." Ryan replied. Mari took note of this. Sieghart's rage meter, if one can see it, has just charged up a notch.

"NO! I mean what's with flying and toppling me over like a bowling pin?"

"Elesis happened. But I got a question… What's a bowling pin?"

"Ah, never mind…"

"Excuse me, what wedding were we talking about again?" Ronan immediately entered the vicinity.

"There's no wedding." Sieghart said as he walked down the basement.

"Ok… Never a dull moment around here." Ronan grinned. Then he spotted Ryan. "Hey Ryan! It's been a while!"

"Yup! I got some important business with the queen of Kanavan. May I see her, Ronan?"

"Why, of course. The druids' support has always been a great help to us Kanavan Knights." Ronan briskly did his job, leading the Vanquisher out the door. They chatted for a while as they left the group.

"Well, it's been nice shouting in your ear, Mari." Elesis grumbled. "For the entire world knows that you didn't even hear me. Excuse me. It would seem that the two substitute teachers just gave my students the slip." Elesis stalked out of the door with a somewhat annoyed face.

"Your grocery bag is still here." Mari called with her megaphone. Elesis returned, said thank you and went out the door immediately.

**(Somewhat later)**

"Surely, you would wish to stay, Ryan? I mean, it's practically easy to get a room for you." Ronan grinned as they walked back out to the gate.

"It's already afternoon." Ryan shook his head. "I promised the other Druids I'd be back by night."

"Well, the next time you visit, make it a bit longer." Ronan grinned.

"If this day is how fun it always is around here, I might just do that." Ryan laughed.

"This is just another typical day in Kanavan." Ronan grinned.

"Well, then, goodbye." Ryan immediately transformed into a wolf and sped away. Ronan grinned, spinning around and walking back to the castle, to return back to his office and finish a bit of paperwork. What greeted the two in their destinations though, was no laughing matter.

**(Ronan's Office)**

"Good Evening, Sir Erudon!" Ronan smiled in response to the latest addition in his warriors.

"Hello, Sir Windzea, what brought you here?"

"I was given a message from the queen." Sir Windzea excitedly said. "One of the guys serving the queen gave it to me." Ronan took the parchment from the excited guard's hands. Looking at it with shock, he read the sentences, word for word.

"… Sir Windzea… Please take this to the Royal Guard's barracks and read it aloud… It is to be followed by all…" Ronan's clenched fist shook.

**(Elven Forest)**

For years, Elven Forest was known for being the very headquarters of the elven druid tribe. Why? Well it has something to do with Eryuell Island prioritizing ranged weapons over the slightly more dangerous close combat. The Druids took offense and moved out. But the relations between the two had never been bad, and they always remained in absolutely good terms.

"I'm back!" Ryan jumped into the hidden Elven Village. The other Druids, Sentinels, and Vikens saw their leader and sighed in relief.

"Chief!" A druid went back and rushed to the Xenocider. Ryan was surprised at how tense the village is.

"What's causing the commotion?" The elves told him what happened. Ryan paced around, for a bit, told the elves what they needed to do, and rushed out the village for a few moments to see the moon. Tears glistened in his eyes as he looked bitterly at the waning moon, as though it was grinning maliciously.

**Chapter End**

Ok, it's been a long time, but hey, it's all good! Anyway, I want people to understand how difficult it is for me to write my stories. Read on and Review!


	3. Visiting the Chase

**Chasing Once More**

Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase

**Visiting the Chase**

**(Serdin)**

The Queen of Serdin frowned as she sat on her throne. The Knight Master simply sighed, not knowing how to react to the silence. Soon a page has arrived.

"… I am sorry, Your Highness… but Kanavan has not sent any news of their current status."

"Thank you, Sir Zeazeka…" the queen sighed. The page was a fresh recruit thus did not appear to understand the situation. "You may leave." The page nodded and left the room. The queen beckoned Knight Master towards her. Knight Master nodded, and moved in front of the queen.

"This is troubling, Knight Master." The queen sighed. "We have been in good relations with Kanavan. But if there is no news, I have reason to fear that Kanavan plans an invasion."

"I'm afraid so as well…" Knight Master replied. "But Ronan, Elesis, Mari, and Sieghart will surely not allow it! Since Arme, a former Grand Chaser herself, lives in Serdin, I don't believe they will just let the invasion go ahead."

"But nonetheless, are you not receiving news from the Royal Guard Master?"

"I'm afraid no, Your Majesty." Knight Master sighed. "Lately… I haven't received any form of news from any of the Grand Chasers as well…" The Queen nodded, and frowned.

"Even the one from Ellia?"

"I'm afraid Arme has yet to meet me and give me any news as well. The Violet Mage Guild members have also refused to leave their premises."

"Well then, the elves?"

"Neither Ryan nor Lire has sent any news either."

"The Silver Knights?"

"I'm afraid that they have not complied either." Knight Master shook her head. The queen sighed.

"This is serious." The queen stood up. "There might be a calamity happening in Bermesiah. I relieve you of your duties to guard me, Knight Master, and assigning you a new task." The queen pointed her scepter to the woman. Knight Master kneeled in response. "Go to Kanavan, and bring back any form of news you can acquire." Knight Master nodded.

"But why should it be me, my Queen?"

"You are my most trustworthy vassal. Whatever news you bring, I'm sure I can believe." Knight Master smiled.

"Very well." Knight Master stood up from her kneeling position. She spun around to go to the great doors when the queen spoke once more.

"Also, Knight Master, I am… allowing you to reform and mobilize the Grand Chase if you deem it necessary." Knight Master nodded.

"I won't let you down my liege."

**(Kanavan)**

Knight Master took a shortcut path to bypass the winding ways required to go to Kanavan. She finally arrived at the great city around 5 days after she left. Upon arriving at the gates, she found a Royal Guard walking by.

"Excuse me, sir, but I request that you bring me to the Queen of Kanavan." Knight Master said. The Guard just walked past.

"… Strange. The Royal Guards don't usually just ignore an envoy of the queen…"

"Oh, Knight Master!" The blonde spun around to find Elesis, grinning from one ear to another. In her hand was a shopping bag.

"… Elesis, I didn't know you did shopping." This caught Elesis's ire.

"What is with people? I mean, I DO have to eat, right?" Elesis tapped her foot in annoyance. But she quickly smiled again. "So what brings YOU to Kanavan? Ryan came around and told everyone about me shopping?"

Knight Master sighed, "I'm afraid, no. That is the reason I'm here." Elesis raised her eyebrow.

"So what's the trouble?" Elesis asked.

"I have not received any messages from any of the Grand Chase, so I came here in hopes of finding a bit of news from Kanavan." This caught Elesis's attention.

"Come, I'll take you to the Royal Guard Master himself. I mean, he's the one responsible for the news, right?" Knight Master nodded and followed the red hair.

**(Royal Guard Master Room)**

A knock was heard by Ronan as he looked through his papers. Ronan sighed.

"Password?"

"I don't need any freaking password, Ronan, LET ME IN!" Ronan immediately noticed Elesis's voice. He immediately shut up.

"… Oh, here we go again, huh? Well, you can bill this to Sieghart, got that? Round Crash!" Ronan blinked as he saw the door falling down, to reveal a rather annoyed Elesis. She was wiping her Ssanggeom of any splinters. He then saw Knight Master sighing as she entered the room herself.

"Hello, Ronan, it has been a while." Knight Master smiled to the Royal Guard Master. Ronan, however, simply acted as though he didn't see the two.

"Ronan, hello?" Elesis waved her hand across Ronan's face. Knight Master sighed and decided she should just look around the room for any clues. Meanwhile, Elesis was trying all forms of conversations to see if Ronan will react. Unfortunately, Elesis was simply ignored.

Knight Master sighed as she looked around. She soon found a letter with the mark of the Queen of Kanavan. It said:

_The Royal Guards are to not speak to anyone outside the Royal Guards and the Royal Family, and only within their duties as Royal Guards must they speak to them at all. This law is to increase the efficiency of the Royal Guards in protecting, me, the Queen of Kanavan._

_Signed and Sealed by,  
>The Queen of Kanavan<em>

Knight Master spun around to confront Ronan about this when Elesis said:

"I love you Ronan!" Elesis yelled. This received shock from Ronan.

"Elesis, grab Ronan and we're going to the Queen of Kanavan. I found the problem." Elesis spun around and rushed to the woman. She grabbed the letter and read it over a few times and spun towards Ronan.

"I only said what I said to get you to react to me. Don't get your hopes up." Elesis then rushed out the door, with Ronan in tow. Knight Master ran after the two.

**(Kanavan Throne Room)**

"… I never agreed to this." The Queen of Kanavan finally said. "I don't remember making laws lately, so it is impossible for me to have placed this rule!" Ronan finally opened his mouth to speak.

"But the seal of Kanavan, which can only be made by you, makes this an official law!" Ronan replied.

"Now hush, Royal Guard Master… Knight Master, this is an urgent situation." The Queen sighed. "I feel as though I was tricked or something. Nevertheless, this law is not to be followed, Royal Guard Master. I relieve the whole force of the Royal Guards of this fake." Ronan nodded. He spun towards the Royal Guards that he assigned to the queen.

"Tell the troops." The Royal Guards nodded in response, grinning from ear to ear. One left the premises and rushed out. Ronan then turned to Elesis. "I am sorry for not being around and ignoring you."

"Hey, don't sweat it. And I'm telling you again in case you don't remember. I didn't mean what I said back at the room." Elesis immediately said. Ronan nodded.

"But, for someone to be able to somehow use the seal of Kanavan, and copy the signature of the Queen herself, our foe is not to be trifled with." Ronan grumbled.

"Shall we chase them, like old times?" Elesis grinned. Ronan laughed.

"That is a good idea." The Queen suddenly spoke. "Knight Master, do you think Queen of Serdin will agree if I have the Grand Chase mobilized once more?"

"I've been given authority by her Highness to reform the group."

"Well then, I will allow you to take Ronan, Elesis, Sieghart and Mari with you." The Queen nodded. "I want you to do your be- gah!" The Queen suddenly fell as a sword stab caught her through her body. Ronan gasped and rushed towards the queen. Elesis immediately snarled as she chased the person who stabbed the queen, with the Knight Master running towards the door to prevent the man from escaping. Ronan snarled as he noticed that the queen was nearly dead. He rushed towards the man as well.

"Round CRASH!" Elesis smacked her swords down. It missed the man but caused the hood to fall off. Ronan immediately noticed the man's face.

"… SIR WINDZEA! What is the meaning of this treachery?" Ronan pulled out his Tyrfing.

"Foolish child." Windzea grinned. "You will not be able to defeat evil so easily, Sir Ronan."

"I'll show you! For your treachery, you will regret it! Tornado Stinger!" Ronan jumps up, summoning a circle of magical swords around him. He then slashes the defector with the swords spinning around him and sends the swords crashing through the man's body. Windzea just laughed as he met his end. Windzea then suddenly misted away. Ronan snarled. "He got away…" He then rushed back to the queen to see that she was still breathing.

"Guards!" Ronan yelled. When no one arrived, he summoned his Valkyrie guardian and had it take the wounded queen out the door.

**(Mari's Room)**

"She'll live." Mari said shortly. "The stab missed her internal organs, and I have applied all that I think she'll need."

"Thank you, Mari." Ronan sighed. "This is because of my incompetence…"

"No one saw how Windzea got behind the queen." Knight Master comforted the Royal Guard Master. "Mari, I'm afraid that you may have to stay to take care of the queen…"

"No, Knight Master." Knight Master turned around to see the queen. "Take her. You'll need her. As for I, Mari can simply instruct the Royal Guards what they need to do for me…"

"As long as they keep the electric generator working, it should be fine." Mari replied. "All they need to do is either charge magic into the crystal or smash a hammer on the press. As for medication… The doctors can help you."

"Take them with you, Knight Master." The Queen insisted. "And, Mari… take them to Sieghart. Maybe they can find out something about him."

"Hmm? What's wrong with Sieghart?" Ronan asked.

**(Sieghart's Room)**

"He has been asleep for 8 days now." Mari said, pointing towards the Prime Knight. "I need you to help me wake him up. No amount of yelling has worked."

"Hmm…" Knight Master nodded. "Has there been any way of getting Sieghart's attention?"

"I usually could just say Ronan and Elesis were getting married, but that appears impossible at the moment…" Mari replied.

"Well then, Ronan, hug Elesis." Ronan nodded. Elesis grumbled and received the hug. This caused Sieghart to stand up in shock.

"What the hell did you do to my descendant Ronan?" Sieghart jumped but was stopped by the Knight Master. Elesis immediately pushed Ronan away.

"Sieghart, the queen was almost assassinated." Knight Master informed the man. Sieghart gasped.

"WHAT?"

"She's fine now, but the Queen requested that you join us." Sieghart nodded.

"We'll have to hurry." Sieghart grumbled. "I hate running, I know that, but… if the queen of Kanavan is attacked… what more is the queen of Serdin…" Knight Master nodded.

"I'm worried too… But it's getting late. We must rest."

"I refuse." Seighart replied. "I should not sleep tonight…"

"Why?"

"… You just told me right? That I won't wake? If I sleep again, what guarantee do I have that I will wake up the next morning?"

**(Serdin)**

"… Sir Zeazeka… Why?" The Queen moved backwards onto her throne. The Page smirked.

"I need you, my Queen. Don't worry. I won't kill you. But I need you to further my plans!" The Page grabbed the royal and teleported away, leaving behind only her crown and a bunch of slaughtered Serdin Knights.

**Chapter End**

****Read on and Review


	4. Tears of the Goddess

**Chasing Once More**

Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase

**Chapter 4: Tears of the Goddess**

There was a path that connects Serdin and Kanavan directly. It goes through the mountains and was for the convenience of the Traders. This was also the path that Knight Master took to get to Kanavan. Now, the reforming Grand Chase was using it to get to Serdin. Currently, the group had decided to take a break on the side of the road.

"In fairness, Red, you can cook well." Sieghart remarked as he ate his share of wild boar. "But I'll have to say, the taste is quite bland in comparison to the shorty's cooking." Elesis looked affronted.

"Well, excuse _me! _We didn't bring any spices, for your information!" She retorted.

"True." Ronan nodded. "But the fact that the food is cooked and not burned is commendable."

"Do you have so much doubt on my survival skills or something, Sir Erudon?" Elesis had somehow been able to make Ronan's last name sound a bit insulting. "I mean, I DID live alone for the past few years!" Elesis replied. Then she sighed. "I mean, you DO know what happened to my father…"

"Sorry, but his current whereabouts is still impossible to track down…" Knight Master stated.

"It's alright." Elesis shrugged. "I got my hopes too high when I thought we would find him in our first Chase…"

"It's alright, Elesis." Ronan patted the girl's shoulder, but Elesis threw it off.

"Don't go patting my shoulder like that." Elesis grumbled. She was about to excuse herself by saying she'll wash the dishes on a nearby stream, but Mari had already taken the initiative. Elesis simply looked dubiously at Mari. "… Sometimes, her silence makes me forget she's even around…" Elesis remarked.

"Everyone, as soon as Mari has done the dishes, we move." Knight Master said as she prepared the packhorse they rented. "We still do not know if Serdin is fine." Ronan nodded. Then he remembered something.

"Umm… Knight Master? Why did you not recruit Arme beforehand?" "I mean, she lives in the same city as you."

"I visited Arme, but… You know that she is now Guild Master of the Violet Mages right? Apparently, she can't just go ahead and leave the Guild because of that."

"Makes sense." Ronan nodded. "I mean, I sure had a hard time with the paperwork to take a leave of absence, and that's with the queen's permission…"

"True, but Elesis had it easy…" Knight Master laughed. "I mean, she just left the job to the Sword Master in the meantime."

"If I don't get a successor, Tsurugi will probably be the one who succeeds the Ruby Knights." Elesis shrugged. "I need him to learn about responsibility."

"Says the reckless leader." Sieghart commented. The others besides Mari laughed at Elesis's expense.

Mari then suddenly spoke, "I do not know whether this information is necessary or not, but the vibrations in the air indicates a young woman whose eyes are shedding water mixed with some salt." Everyone else besides Sieghart blinked a couple of times in confusion.

"Can't you just say "I hear a girl crying nearby?, like most people?" Sieghart remarked. The group sweat dropped at the very simplified translation. Sieghart then followed. "Oh yeah, you COULD say it like most people. Don't use long words for the heck of it!" Mari just shrugged in response.

"Where is the girl?" Ronan immediately inquired Mari of the girl's position. Mari pointed to a nearby tree. Elesis simply grumbled.

"Always the gentleman, aren't you?" She muttered. Then she saw Ronan wave them towards his location. There, they found a very familiar face.

"AMY!" Elesis grinned, seeing her young friend. Then she frowned when she saw the tears. "What's wrong?"

"… Elesis?" Amy blinked, seeing the red head. She then bounded with joy. "WOW, ELESIS!" Amy immediately hugged her newfound friend. Elesis winced. Then she looked back at Ronan. "Oh, Ronan, you brought Elesis with you, you cheeky boy~ Gonna introduce your girlfriend to Arme or something?" Ronan and Elesis immediately went beet red.

"WE'RE NOT TOGETHER YET!" Elesis yelled. But Amy was simply not paying attention.

"Oh, Sieghart, Mari, and Knight Master~, you were all here?" Amy grinned. Then she pieced together the clues. "Oh, are you reforming the chase or something? Let me in!" Amy grinned as she rushed towards the Knight Master. "Please, please, please?" Knight Master simply laughed in response.

"You're always welcome." Ronan remarked. "But I can't help but notice the tears that stained your cheeks…" Amy touched her cheeks in reflex.

"Well… Jin hasn't been sending any messages lately…" Amy mumbled. "… He promised to send me an update at least every month…"

"Well… Maybe he's too busy lately as well…" Knight Master smiled reassuringly. "I mean, he hasn't been sending messages to me either…"

"That sounds odd…" Elesis said. "How many weeks had it been since then?"

"Three." Amy replied. "It's been three weeks…"

"How long does it normally take for a message to make it to you?" Mari followed.

"He uses a Sidtri we trained, so I'd say within 2 days." Amy said.

"… Interesting." Mari said, thinking. "The chance of coincidence is nearly zero now…" The others blinked in response.

"What do you mean?" Elesis demanded.

Mari answered, "Ronan received a false decree, and now lack of correspondence between Amy and Jin… All happened three weeks ago." This caught Knight Master's attention.

"… The Violet Mages have also stopped leaving their premises three weeks ago…" Knight Master informed. "Same goes for the reports from the elves, demons, Ellia, and a certain wanderer…"

"The chance for coincidence can be rounded off to zero now…"

"Knight Master, why have you never responded to any of my letters?" Amy suddenly yelled. "I send it to your office every week!"

"… Like I said, no amount of news has ever appeared on my desk. It is as though someone is intercepting all communications." Knight Master replied.

"If that is the case, then it is safe to say that there is a spy planted by the enemy in Serdin." Sieghart said.

"Sir Windzea was the spy at Kanavan." Ronan nodded.

"So there could be a spy within the Violet Mages?" Amy asked.

"I highly doubt that." A voice came out of nowhere. The group spun around looking around for the location of the voice, but there was no one other than themselves in the area.

"Is the Grand Chase reforming or something?" The voice asked.

"Who are you?" Knight Master asked warily, pulling out her lance.

"That is of no importance at the moment." The voice replied. "Can I ask one question though? Why are the druids being hostile?"

"What do you mean?" Ronan asked.

"… The path on the left will lead you to the Elven Forest. You find out for yourselves." A sudden blur left the tree that Amy was on and left in the direction of Serdin.

"Let's go. Recruiting Ryan might prove helpful." Knight Master said.

**(Elven Forest Edge)**

"We followed the mysterious voice, but who was that voice?" Sieghart asked.

"As far as I'm concerned, he must have been a friend of the Druids." Amy replied. "I mean, if he's worried about hostile Druids, he must have known them, right?"

"Ah, it's already afternoon, huh?" Elesis noted. "Let's do this quick."

"Grand Chase, are you for the archers or the druids?" A voice exited from the forest. The group twirled, searching for the source. They immediately spotted the stand-out orange-haired Vanquisher. In his hand, the Storm Pike, twirled dangerously. The voice did not joke about the Druid's hostility. They were definitely menacing.

"Ryan!" Ronan waved at the elf. "What's going on?"

"I repeat, Grand Chase. Are you for the Druids or for the Archers?"

"Both." Knight Master replied. "We are a force to protect the world, thus, we are for all besides evil." Ryan, however, simply roared.

"GET LOST THEN! YOUR INDECISIVENESS WILL BE YOUR END HERE! TO CHOOSE BOTH IS LIKE CHOOSING NONE AT ALL! LEAVE BEFORE I ORDER FOR YOU TO BE KILLED ON THE SPOT! EVEN LASS HAD BETTER TACT THAN YOU!" The group immediately turned around and sped away. As soon as they had left, Ryan spun around, a tear in his eyes. "Sorry, old friends… but I don't know who I can trust."

**(Back to the Chase)**

"Whoa… that was freaky…" Elesis gasped for breath. "What the hell's wrong with Ryan?"

"I'd assume that there was a problem between the two elven groups." Mari said.

"That may be true, but I wonder why he mentioned the thief kid a while ago…" Sieghart asked as he jumped around.

"That doesn't really matter right now…" Ronan sighed. "With this, I'm starting to worry about Serdin."

"This reaction… it feels like the one I got from Arme…" Knight Master sighed.

"Tell us more about your visit with the shorty, then." Elesis sighed. "If we're gonna recruit her, we'll need to know her current situation. This event with Ryan might be a premonition of bad things to come."

"… I'll tell you then." Knight Master nodded. "About the day I was to leave Serdin to go to Kanavan."

**/Flashback: Violet Mage Guild/**

As far as anyone's concerned, entering the Violet Mage Guild is no small feat. It's even harder to enter it unseen. A great wall surrounds the entire Guild, completely frozen in ice. There were no trees in the immediate vicinity, and there's an eternal shockwave force. Any thieves would be hard-pressed trying to even get in. To top it all off, there is no gate in the wall, thus the only way in and out is to teleport. This was how the Violet Mage Guild had kept itself secure for countless generations.

Knight Master, sighed as she faced the area where a brass knocker was placed. The knocker was cold because of the surrounding ice, but that did not really deter anyone much. Grabbing the knocker she knocked twice. Thrice would have just been in bad taste as the knocks echoed through the whole guild. She suddenly felt as though she was being teleported as she suddenly found herself amongst a group of wary Warlocks, and Alchemists, and Battle Mages.

"… I am the Knight Master of Serdin, and I wish for the presence of the Guild Master." Knight Master calmly said. The Alchemists allowed their heavy pots to cascade onto the ground in relief, but the Warlocks and Battle Mages remained unconvinced.

"Everyone, put down your weapons now." A cheery voice suddenly echoed through the area. The Warlocks and Battle Mages finally rested their weapons and allowed themselves to move out of the way and reveal the source of the happy voice.

"Knight Master! Please, join me in my chambers~" The guild master grinned. She had purple hair and was somewhat short. In her hands was a powerful War Staff, but that did not deter anyone from smiling back. Although this was unprofessional, she did not care. This is how people had known the girl, Arme, the youngest Guild Master of the Violet Mages in history. A teenager that leads a guild sounds rather absurd, but it's the truth due to their skills. Arme had helped defeat many enemies that most Battle Mages could only dream of. Though some Battle Mages were envious, they were, nonetheless, inspired by her.

"Let's go then~" Arme twirled around and walked towards the main building of the Violet Mage Guild. She then turned to her members. "Go back to your training now, ok~"

**/Still in Flashback: Arme's Chambers/**

"It's been a long time, Arme. I haven't seen you for almost three weeks now." Knight Master remarked.

"This and that happens." Arme replied, but there was a loss of cheer. "So what brings you here, K.M?"

"Let's get down to business, then, Arme." Knight Master nodded. "I haven't been receiving any messages from any of the other Chasers lately."

"Not even Ronan?" Arme asked. "I mean, that guy is the most dutiful of all of us."

"Not even him. Even the elves haven't been giving me information." Knight Master sighed. "Now, I want to find out why."

"True, that is odd, but why do you want me?" Arme asked.

"Well… You are among those who have refused to give me any updates about. This is important because you are also the one who provides me the information regarding Lass." This hardened Arme's face as though the very mention of the name.

"The Striker's name is taboo here, Knight Master." Arme said, looking away. "I have no information regarding that thief." This caught Knight Master's attention. "… Please leave Knight Master. And do not come back here if all you wanted to speak of is about the Silver Cross Assassins." Knight Master sighed, standing up.

"… Arme. I refused to tell you this, but there might be a chance for the Grand Chase to be reformed. If that happens, I would like for you to join us once more." Knight Master walked out of the doorway.

"… I can't join you even if I wanted to… Because of the current situation." Arme sighed, turning away. This was the last Knight Master heard from Arme as a group of Warlocks appeared and teleported the Knight Master, once more, outside the guild.

**/End Flashback/**

"… Oh great, Lass's name just HAD to show up right there." Elesis groaned. "What's so bad about Lass lately?"

"I honestly have no idea. But I wonder about Arme's current situation." Ronan mumbled.

"We'll know when we get there, I guess." Sieghart shrugged. "That thief better not be doing any mayhem in that guild of his."

**Chapter End**

Ok, let's keep this pace going then. Read on and Review~


	5. Guild Wars

**Chasing Once More**

Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase.

**Guild Wars**

The city of Serdin was quiet. It was eerie, as the city had always been a bustling town. Even the marketplace was quiet. The reason is the mysterious disappearance of the queen. The second, is because they were busy staring at a group who had appeared in their midst. A single thought went through their heads: 'What is the Grand Chase doing here…?'

The Grand Chase did not mind the quiet but they certainly minded the fact that the queen has disappeared.

"I shouldn't have left." Knight Master snarled as the group sped towards the castle. "… I should have asked Arme's help for protecting the queen and not rely on the knights…"

"Serdin is known for its high population of magic users." Sieghart nodded. "… To rely on knights in a magic city is not really good… But, you're a knight yourself."

"… You're not helping." Elesis grumbled. "… We'll need to find the queen soon, shouldn't we?"

"And how are we to do that?" Amy asked. "I mean, chasing bad guys is easy enough because they actually leave a trail. But chasing a missing person? Not much to go on."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Ronan said. "We have more things to worry about."

"Arme?" Amy asked.

"Yup. She isn't one to just stand by when the whole town is in a panic." Knight Master said, but there was still a bit of depression in her tone.

"We need shorty's help. And we'll accept only HER help. If we're chasing an enemy more powerful than Kaze'aze, Thanatos and that Baldinar guy, we'll need all the help we can get." Elesis told the group.

"I'll be heading to to the castle, Elesis." Knight Master told her. "I need to check up on the situation."

"Got it." Elesis nodded.

**(Violet Mage Guild)**

"So now what?" Ronan asked as they stared at the impenetrable wall. "I mean, we can't just barge in, right?"

"Just knock and everything will be fine." Sieghart yawned. "They won't kill us." As if on cue, Mari swung the knocker once. They were immediately teleported inside to see a familiar hostility known as Warlocks, Battle Mages, and Alchemists. Almost as soon as they saw the Grand Chase, they immediately looked around the group, and as soon as they were satisfied, walked away.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about barging in." Ronan sighed.

"True, but do we even know the way to Arme's room?"

"If you're looking for me, I'm standing right here." A voice suddenly spoke to the group. They spun around to see Arme.

"I see that the thief isn't with you, so that's fine." Arme shrugged. "So what do you want, Grand Chase?"

"You." Elesis replied. "We want you, shorty."

"Not happening, you bricks-for-brains." Arme replied.

"What did you say, you brat!" Elesis snarled.

"I mean what I said, you walking wall."

"Ok, you two. Knock it off." Ronan said getting in between them.

"Not yet Lire!" The two said simultaneously. Then they noticed Ronan.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not Lire." Ronan sweat dropped. Arme simply looked surprised.

"Oh… Lire's not yet with you, huh?"

"Nope, but have you heard of what happened to the queen?"

Arme raised her eyebrow in response. "No. Why?"

"… She went missing. Kidnapped most likely." Sieghart said. "You didn't know?" This alarmed Arme.

"What! But… How?"

"We don't know either. And if we did, we would have chased the culprit immediately."

"You are the only one we can get any information from." Mari said. "because only your voice can be trusted." Arme sighed.

"But… Everyone… I… don't know anything… Because of what's going on between the Violet Mages and the Assassins, I've been having too much problems." This caused suspicion to rise among the group.

"Did Lass's Guild do something?"

"Come with me." Arme walked towards a building.

**(Violet Mage Infirmary)**

The group was shocked as they saw three mages, bloody and cut all over their bodies. "It was difficult to heal." Arme remarked. "… I sent these mages to investigate the magic at Kaze'Aze's old castle." Arme looked away. "They came back like this. In one of their bags I found a broken thief dagger." Arme then snarled. "It can only be the Silver Cross Assassins. This dagger… It's not normal. It was made for the quick and agile. You can't just buy this anywhere. It is most certainly manufactured in Silver Cross Town."

"But why will the Silver Cross attack the mages?"

"Who knows?" Arme shrugged. "But this assault basically destroyed whatever pact we have between our two guilds."

"You're so young yet you have so many responsibilities… Especially since… hee hee." Amy suddenly giggled mid-sentence. "You and Lass, are an item~"

"WHAT!" Arme bolted backwards, her face beet red. "You... Amy! Don't mention that rotten thief's name! Ugh, I've had enough! Get OUT! ICE BALL!" They immediately ran out the door before they find themselves frozen. Some trainee mages nearby approached them.

"… Please don't ask our head mage to join you just yet… Because she's around, we feel safer… If the assassins come…"

"… We understand." Ronan nodded. "Can we request to be allowed back?"

"The Grand Chase is always welcome here." A mage smiled. "As long as… you don't bring… an assassin with you."

"Got that." Elesis grimaced. "I wonder what the hell is going on between the two groups."

"Well then, can we get out now?" Elesis asked, impatiently. "There's only so much we can do without having to face shorty's wrath."

"Right, ma'am… I'll call the Battle Mages."

**(Sometime later, Serdin Castle)**

"… Why will the Silver Cross Assassins attack the Violet Mages?" Knight Master asked the group. They were gathered in the courtyard of the castle, eating solemnly. With the Queen's seat empty, they dare not ask to eat in the palace.

"I honestly don't know… I mean… the Violet Mages live in Serdin, all the way in Bermesiah!" Elesis exclaimed.

"But even so, we need to resolve this matter…" Mari said. "Without Arme's expertise in magic, we might have a bit of trouble…"

"And Lass is our best scout. We need to have both of them." Ronan said. "But… asking one member to join us will prove to be the worst choice… I mean… both of them are leaders of their respective guilds. Asking one, will make the other be our enemies…"

"Thus, they will be hostile towards us… And… they may attack the other guild whilst the other's leader is with us." Amy sighed.

"A war between guilds… This can't be easy to take care of." Sieghart grumbled. "I preferred the peaceful era."

"Also the queen. We need to save the queen!" Elesis nodded to the rest.

"And we need to act quickly." Knight Master sighed. "But not now. We need to rest. This has been a tiring day for us all. I've acquired the necessary rooms to sleep in for the night." Knight Master informed them.

"Thanks, Knight Master." Mari nodded. "But… I would like to look around town for a bit again. I would want to speak with Arme once more."

"It probably won't change anything but… Alright." Knight Master nodded. Mari stood up and walked back to town.

"… We'll accompany her." Elesis brushed her clothes of any dust. "Amy, you're with me as well."

"And the two of us?" Sieghart pointed at himself and Ronan.

"You two can join too." Elesis shrugged. "Back to Violet Mage Guild, I guess."

**(Town)**

A cloaked figure walked through the crowd. It was somewhat short and stumbled through the crowd with some annoyance. Following this figure were five other figures.

"… Is this really a smart idea?" Ronan asked Elesis. "… This figure, are you sure it's Arme?"

"Mari was the one who told me." Elesis hissed. "And Mari doesn't make baseless assumptions."

"She's short enough to be Arme." Amy shrugged.

"True, she is short enough." Sieghart remarked.

"Let's keep walking." Mari said as she followed the girl. They soon found themselves in front of a house of some sort. The figure looked around and entered. The group immediately jumped to enter as well, but discovered the door locked.

"Well, that's a bummer." Sieghart yawned. "Guess we have to hit the hay now?"

"No not yet!" Amy answered, pulling out a hairpin. She made quick work of the lock and it swung effortlessly.

"I wonder what keys are for lately…" Ronan grumbled. Seeing a thief technique in action is unnerving for the Guard. They rushed in immediately. However surprisingly:

"It's empty!" Amy yelled, shocked as the barren place was completely filled with dust. They remained quiet for a while, wondering where the cloaked Arme went, when:

"That's… the…" A voice said. The voice was clearly Arme's. "How… YOU BASTARD! USING SOMEONE-" However she was caught off by a stern but quiet voice.

"I did not kidnap her, Arme. Even she will attest to that." It said. "And there appears to be people in the house so quiet down." A sudden quiet pierced the place. Elesis was unnerved as there were obviously whispers between Arme and the other voice. They have looked at every possible nook and cranny, but have yet to find the location.

"Guh… There's nothing here…" Elesis yelled. "Let's get lost." Then she suddenly pulled Ronan and company towards herself. Then she whispered, "Find somewhere to hide. Yes, we're staying here. I just want to make sure they still talk normally, and not in whispers." The group nodded and moved to different hiding spots. Elesis made sure to open the door and slam it shut. She then scuttled back to her hiding spot behind the barrels.

"They're gone." Arme's voice breathed again.

"I'm not too sure." The other voice said. "How unfortunate there's no window to make sure…"

"Just how did you get here then?" Arme's voice said, obviously grumbling.

"How else, there's the other window over there."

"Why? Why did you call me out today?" The familiar voice of Arme resonated from somewhere in the house.

"I would like entrance to your guild."

"Like hell, I'll allow that!"

"Then, I'll just have to enter myself?"

"Don't kid yourself. No one has entered the guild without mage help."

"Your guild is not THAT impenetrable, Arme. If I have to, I'll create a gate for you, even."

"Hmph, entering without the help of magic is nothing but stupdity."

"… Take the queen at least, Arme. And also the credit."

"… Alright then. But, don't expect me to be any nicer to you."

"I won't. But remember this Arme, this isn't the last you've heard of me."

"I… I don't want it to be the last I've heard of you… anyway…"

"… There's the Arme I want to hear from again."

"I… just want someone to blame for what the hell's going on between my mages and the assassins, ok!"

"Just don't blame an uninvolved party. That would be really rude to them."

"You're… Oh… I get it." Arme suddenly laughed. Then quiet came over her. Soon she spoke, "We've been meeting a lot in secret lately…"

"And you have to yell at me every time."

"The girls still haven't healed…"

"That may be so, I guess, but… Arme, you're better when you're like this…"

"… Umm… I… I'm sorry for having to yell at you all the time… I mean, it's not really your fault the assassins attacked the mages."

"Are you honestly sure that it was the assassins that attacked the mages?

"As sure as I could Fire Storm you if I get the chance."

"You wouldn't."

"I'll make sure to grill you."

"… Seriously. But… Do you really think that the thieves would decide on anything so silly?"

"Who knows with thieves? You're not a petty thief like those guys anyway… You're better than them…"

"I know… I… Arme… Take care of yourself… Because tomorrow will be what will change the two of our fates…"

"… I know… I'll take the queen now, but you take care of yourself."

"Don't overdo it, Arme. She appears to be waking up soon."

"I'll teleport… I goodb-" The voice was cut off by something. Quiet covered them.

"… I want you to know that I care, Arme." The other's voice told her. "But… I need you to be honest with me, Arme. Am I worthy of your complete trust?"

"… More than my life." Arme suddenly teleported out of the ceiling. In tow was a sleeping queen. She walked out the door, allowing her magic to lift the queen. She pulled the door open. "… Amy and the others forgot to lock it, huh?" Arme chuckled and walked out the door.

"What was that about?" Amy stood up, brushing her clothes. "I mean… That was definitely odd."

"Who on earth was the odd voice?" Sieghart asked.

"I'll try to find the source with the data samples, but it was slightly muffled."

"It can't be Lass, right? I mean… The person with the shorty pointedly said that he was uninvolved." Elesis said.

"I am." A sudden voice resonated, causing alarm bells to start ringing among the Grand Chase. As quick as lightning, they were gathered in the center, their weapons raised. The only exception to this is Sieghart, who simply pulled out his Gladius.

"… Seriously Sieghart, your first job weapon?" The voice said, amused.

"I didn't bring any other weapon with me, Lassy."

"Ooh. So what proof do you have that I'm Lass?"

Sieghart snorted at the voice's challenge, "The fact that we can't see you proves that you're currently using invisibility. As far as everyone's concerned, the only one with the ability to do that, plus know and cares for Arme, plus knows everyone else in the Grand Chase is probably you, Lass."

"That's a lot of pluses." Lass remarked, suddenly appearing.

"So you met up with Arme, huh?" Ronan asked.

"This will be our final meeting as friends." Lass shrugged. "I wanted to see her before I go."

"What do you have in mind, Lass?" Elesis asked.

"That's my secret. Just go to the Violet Mage Guild tomorrow, if you really want to know." Lass said, jumping out the window immediately.

"… We forgot to ask him his side of the story of the battle between VMG and SCA..." Ronan sighed. "I guess it's time for us to return. We might just take him up on his offer." They left the house only to see Arme surrounded by overjoyed people of Serdin, as their queen was returned. Arme did nothing to accept or reject the praises. She simply allowed them to think what they all thought: "Thanks for the work of the Violet Mage Guild for saving the queen."

**(Next Day, Violet Mage Guild)**

Quiet consumed the whole guild as a certain striker sat at the top of the roof of the Violet Mages. Everyone, including the visiting Grand Chase, had their weapons clenched tightly. Lass, however, was simply NOT worried. As far as he was concerned, he was safe. In his hands were a bunch of papers.

"I hate paperwork. But there are times one must care for them." Lass shrugged.

"How the hell did you get in?" Arme yelled at the guy.

"There's something known as a lack of roof." Lass replied. "I would suggest remedying that, but you guys are not assassins that you can work indoors as well. Considering your big scale attacks like Deep Impact."

"That is beside the point. There's a permanent Shockwave Force on the roof!" A male Battle Mage yelled roughly. "You couldn't possibly have jumped through with nary a scratch!"

"An assassin's trade secret." Lass replied. "Now, I reveal you three sheets that will be your undoing, Violet Mage Guild."

"Oh really? What can a bunch of papers do?" Elesis scoffed.

"A lot. You could pepper it with gunpowder, set it aflame and let the explosion do the rest." Lass replied. "But most people will be stupid to do that. At any rate. I have here is a war treaty. I want the Violet Mage Guild to think this through well. Sign, if you want a war between guilds. If any one of you signs, it makes it official." He drops the paper, which Arme stumbled to catch. Catching it, she read it over.

"Why?" Arme replied. "The only way for that to work is if your whole guild agreed and signed another war treaty!"

"… I do have a complete signing." Lass revealed a bunch of signatures on his other papers. "We are ready for your call, Violet Mage Guild. One single signature decides all. Think carefully of whether, you want us assassin's your enemies."

"LASS!" Arme snarled.

"Grand Chase, you can guard the tally if you wish. I know I'm not welcome here, anyway." Lass left.

"… Lass… you idiot." Arme snarled. "Why? Why do you have to make my job so hard?"

**Chapter End**

Read on and Review, friends, cause this is not yet the end for this story~


	6. Guild Dilemma

**Chasing Once More**

Disclaimer: One, I'm not Korean. Two, I don't understand Korean. Three, I'm doing a fanfic of it. So there's a 100% chance that I don't own GC. (GC is made in Korea folks!)

**Guild Dilemma**

**(Violet Mage Guild, Infirmary)**

Arme stood in the infirmary as she watched over her three mages. They had yet to wake, and they won't be able to give their side of the story. But the broken dagger and wands is enough to make them doubt the Silver Cross.

"… Maggie… Wizar… Lockhart… Please… wake up soon…" Arme closed her eyes. "Oh, goddess of Bermesiah… help us…"

**(Violet Mage Guild, Conference Room)**

Elesis glared at the sign sheet as though it is Kaze'Aze's face, and let's just say she's not exactly pleased. Ronan sighed at seeing the complete attention Elesis is giving the paper, but he understood the reasoning behind it. That single piece of paper could change their very history as friends. Especially since, if a war breaks out, the Grand Chase won't be able to avoid taking sides considering that Serdin will surely be the battlefield. With Serdin being their base of operations, they need to protect it at all costs.

But that means that the side they take will surely be the VMG, and that also means they gain a fearsome opponent among the SCA. They already had difficulty fighting the controlled Lass during the Castle incident, and the thought of around 150 thieves that trained under the Striker is unnerving. But what scared them is the fact that it was Lass and Arme that were fighting. The group knew firsthand how good the relation between the two young leaders and them being involved in a Guild War will probably destroy at least Arme's heart. No one knows if Lass himself is affected by this, but considering the fact that Lass himself has signed the sheet, he probably is not hurt in the slightest. This thought process only served to make the group's anger towards Lass increase.

"It's impossible for there to be no one among the many mages to hate the Silver Cross..." Mari noted. "As painful as it is, there will always be a minority that doesn't like them."

"… That may be so." A voice suddenly said. The group's head collectively jerked towards the door, where the voice's source. Arme leaned against the door's frame.

"Yo shortcake." Elesis waved.

Arme glared at the redhead and opened her mouth to retort. However, she found that nothing came out, she closed it once more.

"So what do you think with this very unusual war declaration?" Ronan asked.

"… Lass must wish to avoid fighting as well to be honest…" Amy shuffled. "I mean… If you were to wish to declare war, won't you just simply attack?"

"Sorry, but not exactly." Arme shook her head. "I mean, even he himself signed that paper he kept. If that really was the case, then he's probably trying to give me all the responsibility for the war…"

"Well, the whole of the Violet Mage Guild will be responsible…" Sieghart shrugged. "These tedious paperwork is just a formality and for the whole of the continents to know and prepare for the war."

"So if the Guild signs, we're at war." Elesis sighed. "Great predicament you got us into pipsqueak."

"… I'll give them one week. One week. If in one week, by some miracle, no one signs…," Arme sighed, "maybe we would be spared of war."

"But like we said, there are times when the impossible is simply that, impossible." Mari said. "There will still be a chance, a huge chance."

"I know my mages better than you, Mari. But the attacked mages are friends of some of our own." Arme shrugged. "So, you're right. There's a big possibility." Arme sighed.

"We will simply hope for the best." Amy sighed. "Oh, Samsara, help us…"

**(Nighttime, Castle, Queen's Chambers)**

"Are you alright, my queen?" Knight Master questioned the woman sitting on the throne.

"Yes, I am quite fine." The Serdin Queen smiled. "But, I wanted to be able to honor the Silver Cross for their rescue… But that will just cause strife between the VMG and the Serdin Government…"

"I know of Lass's daring rescue. But who was it that kidnapped you, my liege?"

"Sir Zeazeka, the new page. He took me somewhere, but I don't remember where exactly… But I do remember seeing the Assassins. Some form of castle walls. I was asleep for most of the journey, but I do remember a few things that I do know. The castle I had been was in Ellia. I'm sure. The assassins had found me there and Lass decided to take up the task of escorting me here…"

"Why did you not try to speak with Lass about the matter? Surely he'll answer."

"He refused, Knight Master." The Queen shook her head. "I quote: If my and Arme's situation gets worse, I would not have a single reason to answer you. At the moment, I will not reveal anything you don't necessarily need to know."

"And what did he say that he you needed to know, my queen?"

"That I'm safe, apparently." The queen shrugged in response. Knight Master sighed at the uncooperativeness and stubbornness Lass is portraying.

"… Let's hope that no one signs that sheet Lass gave Arme then…" Knight Master said as she left the room. "I shall leave you to rest for now, my liege…" Knight Master left the queen. The queen sighed, looking out the night sky of her window. It was only last night that she returned with the assassins' help. And now, it may appear that the assassins will be their enemies.

"Goddess of Bermesiah… help us…" The queen closed her eyes to sleep.

**(Violet Mage Guild, Conference Room)**

Arme had decided to sleep alongside the other members of the GC. All save for Sieghart have now fallen asleep. Sieghart sighed, trying to keep his eyes open, but the lack of activity is wearing on his fatigued mind.

"Why are you not asleep, Sieghart?" A voice echoed through the quiet hall. Sieghart shot up, pulling out his Gladius. The voice has brought him immediately wide awake. He found the voice to come from a beam above his head. Sieghart need not even squint to see the white haired boy that lies on the beam.

"Like old times, huh…" Lass said.

"Get down here." Sieghart snarled.

"Keep your voice down." Lass said. "I'd rather not wake the others just yet." Sieghart nodded. He then jumped onto the beam himself. He then glared at Lass's eyes, to see if his eyes held any killing intent. Seeing no killing intent he settled down.

"Why did you sign that war sheet?" Sieghart asked. "You do know that Arme will be hurt. She… doesn't want to hurt a single one of her friends, especially you."

"I know."

"Then why?"

"There's something I wanted to check. And I can only know that through this way."

"What?"

"… Ronan had said there was a traitor in Kanavan correct? The one who brought the fake decree." Lass said. "Then there was a Serdin Page that betrayed the queen. As well as intercepting all messages from the others. After a few letters with no replies from Knight Master, I started sending my messages through Arme. That Zeazeka had been planted to intercept my messages and has only recently started stopping the other messages. This Zeazeka has a grudge."

"So you are wondering whether there is another traitor that is planted among the Violet Mage Guild?"

"Yes." Lass said. "I am sure that not a single one of my assassins and thieves is a traitor, though they are quite good at stabbing people in the back."

"Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"Guess it didn't work huh?" Lass received a glare from Sieghart in response.

"Get to the point, Lassy."

"… No, Sieghart. Unfortunately… I can't be sure yet. Just pray for there to be not a single sign on that sheet for the rest of the week. It has only been one day."

"… and I'm having a hard time keeping awake already." Sieghart sighed. "Now I have to keep up with six more days huh?"

"Why are you having such a difficult time sleeping, by the way?"

"Someone had somehow cursed my sleep… It's so annoying… I am now unable to wake up without a very strong reason to…"

"Like?"

"Someone brainwashing my descendant for example?"

"That sounds fun." Lass said, amused. He then turned to the others direction. "… Why is Arme with you guys by the way?"

"Something about missing the group." Sieghart shrugged.

"The shorty hasn't changed." Lass chuckled softly.

"You DID meet her last night remember?"

"… Yes. I guess we did speak to each other the other night, but it's not like we had long." Lass shrugged.

"So how DID you get in the Violet Mage Guild, Lass? I thought that NO ONE should be able to get in without teleport?"

"I found a few loose strings in their perfect wall of defense." Lass smirked. "I'd tell WHERE after this whole incident ends."

"… Lass… you do realize that you are to be considered an enemy the moment you attack Serdin?"

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

"… Then I have nothing more to say to you." Sieghart jumped off the beam. He looked up once more to see Lass not there anymore.

"… You guys are awake, aren't you?" Sieghart turned to the others. The rest of the GC opened their eyes and sat up.

"… There are no traitors among the Violet Mage Guild." Arme growled as she stood up.

"Then that means there should be no one among the Violet Mage Guild to sign, if that's the case." Sieghart laid back. "I think that's what Lass is trying to see."

"… Then… But… That means whoever signs is a traitor?" Elesis asked.

"No." Sieghart said. "It's only if no one signs is his problem."

"Then my mages will prove themselves to not be traitors." Arme huffed. "Ooh, I just can't wait to take that empty sign sheet and rub it on that white-haired pretty boy's face."

"Keep dreaming, shortcake." Elesis sighed. "As for me, I'm going to raid your kitchen." Elesis stood up and ran.

"Oy! Wait for me!" Arme rushed after the redhead.

"… Will someone sign, or not?" Mari asked.

"… If what Arme says is true, then there will be a 50/50 chance. But if there IS a traitor among VMG, we can just say that there will be a hundred percent chance of there being a signature." Sieghart shrugged.

**(A Week Later)**

"… One week's done SHORTY!" Elesis jumped up. She immediately searched for the sign sheet, only to find it missing. "Get up, and help me find that sheet!" Arme grumbled as she stood up from her position on the floor. The rest of the Grand Chase was also moaning awake.

"What are you so boiled up about, nutty idiot," Arme replied as she started searching as well. "… Uh… WHERE IS IT!" She gasped, as she started to frantically search for the paper. The rest of the Grand Chase immediately scanned the area as well.

"Nothing here!" Amy yelled from a corner from the other side.

"Not on this end either." Ronan said.

"I have done a full scan of the area," Mari reported, "But I found none."

"… Did it fly when we were asleep?" Ronan sighed.

"Not likely." Sieghart said as he stood up from his position on the wall. "Lass took the sheet a few moments before Elesis woke up. After looking at it, he tore it up." Sieghart then pointed at the fireplace. "He then took those torn up pieces and tossed them in the fireplace."

"And you didn't stop him?" Elesis snarled as she pounced on her ancestor. "I don't know if someone signed it while I was asleep you know!"

"Sieghart, did you see if anyone signed it or not?" Ronan asked.

"No one came along, as far as I know." SIeghart replied. "But... Someone may have signed it while I went to the bathroom. Haven't checked yet…"

"Then…" Arme's face turned bright red with anger. "Lass is the only one who knows whether the sheet was signed or not!" Then she heard a few footsteps in the hall. Soon chattering followed. She soon found the Violet Mages in the room.

"… Umm… Guildmaster Arme…" Arme sighed as she found herself face to face with her mages. "Did anyone sign?"

"… I don't know." Arme sighed. "That Assassin came round and destroyed the sheet. I don't know whether anyone signed it or not." The chatter started rising again. Soon, a battle mage approached Arme.

"So what do you think we should do? I mean, we need to resolve this problem…"

"… Is anyone out on a mission?" Amy jumped up. "If not, we can do the signing RIGHT NOW!" Amy then shuffled to her feet as she pulled out a plume, a bottle of ink, and a piece of paper.

"You think someone will sign a Contract of War right in front of his or her whole guild?" Sieghart asked. "That's just stupid, no one will do it!"

"Oh, no one said it was a Contract for War, Sieg!" Amy grinned. "This one is a contract for PEACE!" This caused murmurs to rise among the mages. The whole Grand Chase gasped at Amy's suggestion.

"What are you planning, Amy?" Ronan asked. "I mean… Why would we want to do this?"

"You're not the one doing it, Ronan!" Amy replied. "The Violet Mage Guild will be the ones!"

"… What do you mean?" Arme asked as she sighed.

"A contract for peace, Arme! To combat a full signing of a contract of war, we need a full signing of a contract for peace! That means, if someone doesn't vote, it's not really their fault, but they simply do not like the Silver Cross."

"I get what you're getting at." Arme nodded. "Every one of the Violet Mage Guild will now decide! Peace or war? Which one will we want regarding the Silver Cross?" Arme then summoned a form of bar in the sky. "This bar here will show us the percentage of how many has signed the sheet in comparison to the number of Violet Mages."

A commotion arose among the Violet Mages. No one can deny that this was the only way to finish the decision of war or peace, but… No one can forgive the Silver Cross Assassins for attacking their own Mages.

"… War or Peace, truly a strong question." A voice came from outside the doorway. They spun around to see the queen and Knight Master. What surprised them was Lass, who was escorting the two. The Mages appeared on guard, but Lass didn't even bat an eyelash. He simply jumped onto the beam above and observed.

"I swear on my blade to not hurt nor kill anyone." Lass said from above the beam. "But take note, Arme, that if even a single person does not sign, I will return to Silver Cross Town and tell them to get ready."

"… We are prepared to kill you right now, Lass." Arme replied. "We do not swear on anything to not hurt you at all."

"Fair enough. I AM a trespasser." Arme sighed at Lass's obvious lack of care on his current situation. All the mages seemed to agree with Arme and sat on the floor to discuss.

"… Should we sign or not?"

**(A Few Hours Later)**

No one has signed. No one planned to sign. No one appears to have signed at all. Around three hours has passed with nothing. Elesis grumbled, as she took out her sword to practice a few swings out of frustration. Sieghart and Ronan did the same. Arme stood in front of her mages, head down, as though frustrated about something. Amy, however, remained hopeful. She stood in front of the table, dipping the plume a few times in the ink.

"Not one of them seems to want to do anything about signing, Amy…" Sieghart gritted as he finally stopped swinging his Soluna.

"It is true." Mari said. "They are all… angry at the Silver Cross…"

"… no one huh?" Lass sighed. "Then, I best take my leave." Lass stood up from the beam.

"Please!" Arme suddenly yelled. "Please, Lass, wait!" Lass spun around to see Arme's eyes, almost welling up in tears. "… Please… A few more hours… A few more hours…" Arme pleaded. The mages looked in surprise to see their leader in such a state.

"… Do not cry for your opposition, Guild Leader." Lass growled. "No one appears to plan to sign. As proof, your bar does not even show a single person signing that scrap of parchment! I'm leaving!" Lass almost jumped off the bar when another voice called.

"WAIT!" The group spun around to see the voice. It came from the doorway. On the doorway were three mages, all bandaged in some of their parts.

"… Wizar? Maggie? Lockhart?" Arme gasped as she rushed to the door. "What are you doing here! You should be resting in the infirmary! You're still not healed from the Castle Assault!"

"We have a right to vote too, Guild leader." The girl apparently named Maggie said. "… The three of us agreed on something, Guild Leader. We will vote for peace between the two guilds." The group of mages gasped.

"But WHY?" A warlock stood up in protest. "They hurt you!"

"I appreciate what you guys are doing… but… you are considering our three's feelings into account, and not even your own." Lockhart stood up and brushed off his long bangs. He then walked towards the sign sheet and wrote his name in a flourish. The bar moved. Lass shrugged as he sat on the beam once more.

"… But, what do you mean?" Arme stood up.

"… We will not speak any more than what is necessary." Wizar shrugged as he signed as well, causing the bar to move once more. Maggie grinned as she jumped and signed the sheet as well.

"… Remember something, my friend mages!" Wizar said as Maggie signed. "Do not take OUR three's feelings into account for this. It is your own choice now!"

"We want the Assassins our friends." Maggie smiled softly. "That's all there is to it." The group of mages started murmuring amongst themselves. Soon, one by one, the Violet Mages stood up and signed the sheet. Bit by bit, the bar filled. Soon it was only one person left.

"Ok, so who's the last one?" Wizar asked, searching through the crowd. In his hand was the plume. "I mean… he signed. She signed. He signed. She signed, She signed, She signed, He signed." He then felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Give that plume over, Wizar." Arme said. Wizar looked confused as Arme grabbed the sheet and signed her name under everyone else's. The moment she signed it, the bar filled completely. The Violet Mage Guild cheered. Arme jumped up as well. She pulled the sheet and looked over to where Lass was perched. She smiled triumphantly. Lass smiled back and jumped down.

"Well, what do you say now, assassin?" Arme grinned. "What we signed was a Peace Treaty, and not a War Treaty like you bunch."

"That's great and all, but read this." Lass pulled out the papers he shown Arme before. He tapped at the title. Arme's face blanched for a few moments or so.

"… YOU LIED, LASS!" Arme smacked the assassin with her battle staff. Lass grinned as he accepted every hit. "You assassins signed a Peace Treaty! You big! Fat! LIAR!" Arme hit Lass with every word. Lass made no move to defend himself as he smirked.

"I'm sure I haven't gotten THAT fat." Lass smirked. "Sheesh, Arme, get yourself together for your guild."

"I don't care!" Arme continued pounding Lass. The Grand Chase laughed at the scene of two child guild leaders playing around like the children that they are. The Violet Mages laughed as well. Lass then halted Arme's hits.

"Now, let's make this a bit more formal, shall we?" Lass smiled. "I came here to fulfill the duty that I am to do with regards to the full vote of the Silver Cross Assassins for peace. On behalf of the Silver Cross Assassins, we pledge to not harm the Violet Mage Guild's members." He pulled out his Nodachi and raised it into the air.

"… As the Violet Mage Guild's members have unanimously agreed upon, we pledge peace between our two guilds." Arme raised her Battle Staff to cross with the sword. The Violet Mages, as well as the Grand Chase, cheered for their reconciliation.

"You may now kiss the bride!" Amy's voice suddenly piped up amongst the clapping. This halted the clapping and as well as caused the two leaders to stare at each other. The moment the whole line was registered in their heads, they immediately turned away from each other. Arme immediately glared at Amy.

"AMY!" Arme yelled as she tossed a fireball towards the Starlet. Amy jumped out of the way immediately. The whole room was filled with laughter. That night, the guild was filled with excitement. A party rang out. Even the queen stayed in the guild for the event. However, she fell asleep during the party itself, and Knight master decided to move her to a suitable bedroom. Arme allowed the queen to sleep in her room as she planned on sleeping with the Grand Chase. Lass and Arme were also officially accepted in the ranks of the Grand Chase. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and fell asleep contented. Even Sieghart.

**Chapter End**

Long chapter, yay! Read on and Review!


	7. Of Rest, Return, and Ryan

**Chasing Once More**

I don't own GC

**Of Rest, Return, and Ryan**

**(VMG)**

"FIRE STORM!" Arme called, using her Staff rather than her War Staff. It absolutely did nothing on the sleeping Sieghart, who simply snored away. His cursed sleep has once more kicked in but Lass and Arme simply did not believe nothing will wake him up.

"We told you already, don't bother." Elesis grumbled, "I mean, Ronan already tried hugging me to see the effects, but he didn't even budge."

"But then what do you think we should do?" Arme asked, "We can't possibly travel like this!"

"Basically, the only way to wake him up is a strong enough stimulus." Mari said. Arme sighed when Mari practically said, 'It's no use.'

"What do you suggest, Elesis?" Lass suddenly asked. Elesis blinked confusedly.

"Why ask me, Lass? I'm not a thinker like ponyboy over here! All I need is a hard, sharp, slab of steel and I'll be able to do anything that involves battle." She glared accusingly at Ronan as she said that. Ronan looked back as though about to smile in response when Ronan suddenly had his head pushed onto Elesis's. Whatever happened next can be explained like this: Ronan jump backwards. Elesis touches her lips. Elesis charges Lass. Lass uses invisibility. Sieghart wakes up. Sieghart strikes Lass despite invisibility. Result? Lass on the floor, getting kicked around by two angry Sieghart clan members.

"Should we stop them?" Amy asked Arme. Arme shrugged.

"Let whatever they're kicking die, for all I care." Arme responded. "All they are hitting is a scarecrow, anyway." The two Siegharts finally noticed the exchange. Lass was on top of Sieghart's bed, rubbing a hurt arm.

"Ha, serve you right for forcing people to do as you say." Sieghart told Lass.

"That WAS the only way to get you to wake, you know…" Lass glared at Sieghart.

"… What?... What do you mean by that?"

"It's called your cursed sleep syndrome." Ronan explained, already calm. Sieghart nodded, grumbling slightly.

"… We need to head out soon." Amy mentioned. "We wasted enough time here… We need to fix that problem you mentioned regarding Ryan, right?"

"He was hostile when I passed by." Lass said, still rubbing his arm.

"I will accompany you." Knight Master said. "It is my obligation to help you in this quest of yours."

"We'll all go together." Amy chirped.

**(Days Later, Path to Elven Forest)**

The group trudged along the beaten path. It had been a few days since they left Serdin. Travel is quite boring considering that technically; they are still in the time of peace. No monsters attacked them, and in order to keep their senses sharp, they sparred whenever they could. And this is the pattern they took the whole time, until they heard a voice:

"Huff. Huff. Huff… Man, where is she?" A voice rang out. Familiar to everyone, but no one remembered it immediately.

"Who was that?" Elesis asked, pulling out her sword in the direction of the voice. The others also got their weapons ready. But what poked out of the hillside was a boy. A boy who only held a pair of stylized sticks in between his hands. But these sticks are not just for show. They are Vajras, and the boy who held them is the only living Deva of the World as of date. Jin of the Silver Knights.

"JIN!" Amy yelled as she ran. She then proceeded to slap the boy across the head. Jin gasped and pushed the girl away as soon as possible, rubbing his face afterwards.

"What? After not receiving messages from the girl for a full three weeks or so and deciding to come to see if she needs help, she SLAPS him in the face? That's a bit too rude, Amy…" Jin moaned. Amy simply glared in response.

"What do you mean not receiving messages? YOU'RE the one who stopped sending me messages all of a sudden!"

"Whoa hold up!" Ronan immediately intervened. "Amy, you know why that is now, right?" Amy blinked in response then remembered the details.

"Oh… Ooh yeah, I forgot… Someone was intercepting all our mails, right?" Amy chirped. New news for Jin, but it was immediately explained. Then Jin told his story. Apparently after losing any source of contact from any of the Grand Chase, he decided to go to Bermesiah, where Amy last mentioned she'll be. Specifically on the way to Serdin. After all is said and done, Jin joined the group.

**/Jin: HEY! Why is MY recruitment so easy? Everyone else got some sort of complicated twist!**

**LW: You're just that simple. All it takes is one to say AMY and you come running.**

**Jin:… no need to rub it in. /**

**(Elven Forest)**

The group soon found themselves standing somewhere around 25 meters away from the edge of the Elven Forest. Of course, with the hostile druids, no one dared approach it by much. There wasn't a druid in sight but that doesn't stop the Grand Chase in being wary of the forest. So they remained in a distance that would allow them to see any form of attack and run away in the next possible moment.

"So, how do you find a hostile Vanquisher in this forest?" Jin gestured to the group of trees just behind him.

"Just call out, "Ryan, come out alone and we'll have a nice chat!" Amy replied. Sieghart looked at her with ridicule etched across his face.

"Oy, Pinky, how long exactly have you been doing war alongside us? That could easily be interpreted as "Oy, Ryan, come out and walk right into our trap so that we can capture you." Definitely bad for us if they did." Sieghart sighed.

"Then _you_ come up of a better plan!" Amy huffed. True, since he was the eldest and have done more wars than everyone here put together, he would've been ideal for coming up with a solution. Not today though. He hasn't slept for days on end, and the lack of sleep is just making him irritable. So rather than declining with his normally haughty tone, Sieghart opted to just growl in a way to say shut up. And sure enough, Amy shut up. Everyone understood Sieghart's current temper, all except Jin, who did NOT know about Sieghart's curse, and glared at the immortal. Soon, the two was locked in a glaring contest, much to the group's amusement.

The staring contest could've gone on for hours if it weren't for Lass's keen perception noticing something move behind them. "Ryan, your hair is bright orange, so it's stupid to think that a bush can hide you." Everyone spun around at what Lass has mentioned. As he pointed out, there was a bush nearby, with a thick tuft of orange jutting out somewhere around the top. The bush tried to edge away, but by now everyone already made the connection.

Arme sighed, "Ryan, do us a favor and just come OUT." With that last word, she sent a fire ball towards the bush. Ryan jumped out of his unremarkable hiding spot and blocked the fireball with his Storm Pikes.

"You're still quick-tempered, aren't cha, Arme?" Ryan grinned. Arme shrugged as she smiled back, putting away her War Staff onto her back.

"It's been a while, Ryan!" Amy grinned. Ryan nodded back then turned to everyone else. He noticed the very wary faces Ronan and the others were giving him.

"I won't bite." Ryan said, off handedly. Then he scratched his hair. "Not by much at least." The group relaxed, knowing that THIS Ryan was at least willing to talk to them. Then Ryan spoke, "By the way, thanks for not going too near the Forest. Need to keep the tough guy act for the village, me being their chief and all."

"So what happened?" Ronan asked the Druid Leader. "Why are the two clans of elves fighting?"

Ryan grew quiet with that question, before speaking, "One of our elves found this, Ronan." He pulled out the plans and the crumpled letter. Ronan took both and examined each. Elesis and Lass read over his shoulder. Their eyes widened with everything they saw, intriguing both Mari and Knight Master. Sieghart approached them as well, took one glimpse of the plans and went towards Mari.

"Mari, check if this is a POSSIBLE idea. If it will actually work, that is." Mari looked and scanned. She checked if it was possible.

"If it was to be done by a monster, it will be possible, however… Humans don't have the means to get these materials from nature. Yet. If one was to extract gasoline from fossil fuels, which are QUITE rare, they would need a-" Sieghart stopped Mari.

"So this is a stupid plan. The current civilization can't POSSIBLY be able to get this out of the ground. I mean, the deepest we got in to digging is for a well." Sieghart shrugged. "And even if they try setting the forest alight, the magic in the air will just snuff it out." Ryan blinked.

"So you're saying that…"

"It's impossible for a human of the now to devise these plans when they don't even know the word Gasoline." Mari replied. Of course, the word sounded so foreign to the others that they shrugged it off.

"Gasolin? What's that? Some sort of potion?" Arme excitedly said. Ryan scratched his head.

"I knew there was something fishy about these plans… But what about the Eryuell? They must've believed these plans…"

"The first question, Ryan," Elesis said, "did the Eryuell even WRITE this letter?"

"The signature is the same as a copy I kept around." Ryan replied. Ronan snarled.

"Don't get too sure about that." Ronan said. "A person was able to seal a false decree with the Royal Seal. It's not farfetched to say that the signature is just a very convincing fake."

"A rubber seal is a rubber seal." Ryan argued. "All you need is access to the stamp and you get a perfect copy. A signature is something you actually write. And the strokes are the same." As if to prove his point, Ryan pulled out another letter from Eryuell Council. Lass took one look at both letters and jumped next to Ronan. Lass whispered something to Ronan, something surprising enough for Ronan's eyes to widen. He turned to Lass and nodded. He beckoned for Jin, Ryan and Sieghart to approach. The guys huddled into a hushed conversation. The girls looked at the boys with confusion apparent in their eyes.

Elesis, soon enough, is annoyed that they are left out of the conversation. "Hey, Ronan, whatcha talking about." The guys ignored them despite themselves. Elesis tried getting near, but the boys edged away from her. Soon, Arme was also agitated.

"Why are we left out?" Arme complained. Mari simply stared at the group. She, like the other girls, is way outside earshot. However, unlike the others, she is not nearly as agitated. But not everyone is Mari. Even Knight Master had a limited amount of patience. However, before she could go near the group, the boys moved out of the huddle and approached the girls.

"We have discussed and decided." Ronan said, rather monotonously. "It is impossible to resolve this without choosing a side."

"What do you mean?" Elesis demanded. She didn't like where this was going.

"If we want to get involved in this fight, we would need to be IN the dispute." Sieghart supplemented. "We cannot claim to be a neutral party if we are to fight. We would simply make ourselves targets."

"So we need to take sides." Knight Master nodded. Then suddenly the implication dawned on her. "But which side would we take?"

"Well of course, we choose the druids' side." Lass replied casually.

"Why is that?" Arme looked at the striker's face. This was not becoming a good development. Quite the opposite in fact. The boy's didn't react and just smirked. Amy looked at Jin, pleading for a reason.

"So you're planning on joining the Druids, leaving Lire on the side?" Elesis snarled.

"Yes." Ronan said in the same monotonous voice he used earlier.

"It's because your boys, isn't it? Of course you'd choose Ryan's side! You guys didn't consult us about that decision! That's the reason, isn't it? So that you can just toss us on the side?" Arme snarled. Somehow, Arme managed to be slightly scarier than Elesis.

Even Amy took offense immediately. "Jin, how could you! You go and side with the boys, even though you came all this way to see me? Didn't it even occur to you that we want in?"

"No." This was the short response of Jin.

"Guh, you JERKS!" Elesis yelled. "That's it; I'm not siding with you boys! You're looking down on us girls! You're gonna join the druids, then we're with the archers!" Ryan immediately took offense and pulled out his Storm Pikes.

"Side with the archers then leave immediately. Next time I won't be so lenient!" Ryan yelled. The girls snarled and walked away from the group. They have an island to go to.

**Chapter End**

Internet connection problems. Wasn't able to upload any chapters for a long time. Well all's well. Read on and Review~


	8. Elven War: Eryuell Island

**Chasing Once More**

By: Lunar Wave

**Chapter 08: Elven War: Eryuell Island**

**(Bermesiah Sea)**

The peaceful sea rocked a certain schooner gently as it traversed across its expanse. This sea is a beauty, yet to be tainted by the destruction man causes. The schooner continues its ride across. On the horizon, an island shone like a beautiful emerald. This was Eryuell Island, the island of the elven archers. All the elves were known for their keen senses, able to spot things much further than a human's normal eyesight, and is also able to hear better than the rest.

The guard of Eryuell Island Port saw the schooner almost immediately. And one thing was obvious when he reached for his horn: this boat was unwelcome on the island. He blew the horn, and a deafening sound from it was heard. This sound spelled "invader" for the elves of the island. All the shopkeepers immediately reached to close up shop, as the commoners ran for their homes. Only one among this crowd didn't speed for her house. She was an elf with blond hair, and a fair complexion. She wore clothes of green, like most of the elves. She looked about 17 at most. In all honesty, this girl wouldn't actually stand out among the elves if it weren't for what she carries in her hand.

Most elves carried around bows and arrows, and some wield crossbows, and a select few carried the Giant Bow, but this elf carried a certain weapon. This weapon was the Composite Bow. And the only one who could and is allowed to wield this is none other than Lire, former Grand Chase member and current head of the Eryuell Archers. Most people would think it was crazy to let such a young child be one of the highest ranked officials of the Eryuell Island, but Lire has proven herself well. She is a talented archer, proven by the fact that she is the only one who was capable of wielding the Composite Bow.

As the General of the Army, she was also part of the Eryuell Council, and is also their youngest member. And as a member of the council, she also knew of the plans that the humans were planning upon them. As well as the feud between the Druids and the Archers.

Lire sighed as she raced for the port, where her troops awaited her. When her troops saw the young general, they all saluted to the girl. Lire nodded.

"Alright, Second Company, go control the crowd." Half of the group saluted at her and rushed back to the city. First Company, go board the ships along with me and capture the boat. Do not kill its crew if possible. We haven't received any new information from the mainland. We will interrogate their crew for the complete plan." The rest of the group nodded and boarded the other boats that were on the port. Lire quickly followed and took control of the lead ship.

They approached the small boat, with all the archers' bows on the ready in case of attack. But what caught their surprise was a sudden yell from the boat. A yell that was somehow capable of going across 500 meters of open sea.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DON'T HAVE A SINGLE PIECE OF WHITE CLOTH!" This yell knocked back almost everyone in how fearsome it sounded. But what followed was a quite even yell.

"SHUT UP, BRICKHEAD! YOU NEVER SAID WE WERE PLANNING ON SURRENDERING!" This was followed by a series of yells that was barely understandable. Between the same two voices.

Lire blinked. Why is she getting an urge to suddenly run across the water and stop the yelling? She shook back that strangely familiar feeling and ordered the rowers to move the boat forward so that they could get near enough to the boat. She grabbed a conical piece of metal that is shaped like a megaphone and shouted into it.

"All inhabitants of the…" Lire looked at the ship and soon enough found herself staring at the words written on the side of the ship "What? You named your boat Fisherman Bob?" Silence overtook everyone including the two yellers. When a few moments passed, Lire finally pulled herself together to say: "As I said, all inhabitants of the… uh… boat, I am the head of the elven army, Lire. Please appear on the deck and identify yourselves." Another quiet filled the sea, with only the crashing waves breaking the silence. But the elves could hear the movement of footsteps. The group was complying with their wishes without even a fight. Lire was surprised at this. But what she saw on the deck surprised her even more.

What appeared was the heads of: a redhead, a violet-haired girl, a pink-haired girl, a blue-haired girl, and a blonde woman. And what surprised Lire even more was that she knew all of them.

"Huh? Elesis? Arme? Amy? Mari? Knight Master?" Lire blinked. "What are you doing here?" Mari pulled out her megaphone and tossed it to Elesis.

"What else does it look like, Lire? We're surrendering. We just happened to run out of white cloth." Elesis raised a dirty grey cloth and waved it around, all the while glaring at the others who pointedly looked at the other direction.

"If that is the case… Boat 3, go and take control of the boat and head back for Eryuell Island. Take their weapons." Lire would've stopped here, and the elves would've been fine with that if Lire had not just remembered the weapons of certain members of the Grand Chase. Lire sighed as she watched her elves clamber on the boat. She reached for her cone and yelled: "Weapons including the cooking pot, lamp, violin, that pink bag, that suspicious-looking book, and those flying thingies that keep floating around the blue girl." The other elves just blinked. Who fights with a cooking pot? And all those other stuff for that matter?

"You missed my Kleiophone~" Amy said, helpfully handing said weapon to a rather surprised male elf.

"Yeah, that too." Lire sighed in exasperation. They're even HELPING us disarm them. What is the world coming to…?

"Hey, before we cut off all talks…" Elesis suddenly said. "Let me make this one thing clear," Lire nodded, knowing that she couldn't stop the red girl from saying it either way. "WE DID NOT NAME THIS DAMN BOAT!"

**(A few hours later, Eryuell Island)**

"And that's the case, regarding this rather confusing predicament." Lire said. She had spent the past few hours discussing with the Eryuell Council about the surrender of the Grand Chase. And even with the EXTREMELY detailed explanation Lire gave, it seemed that they still needed clarification.

"So what you are explaining to us, Nova, is that the plans that were brought to us by our messengers were fakes designed by an unknown enemy?"

"Yes."

"How do you know that the prisoners aren't lying?"

Lire thought for a bit before replying, "Mari never lies unless she could get something out of it, Arme and Elesis are both REALLY bad liars, and Amy is an oracle of a god. Plus, I interviewed all of them separately and their stories were all rather consistent. Though, they are particularly heated about the fact that the boys of the Grand Chase have sided on the druids."

"So… the humans aren't our enemies. But the druids are obviously up to something." An elder among the council spoke. "The druids are the closest to the human civilization. If there is no danger, why would the druids send out such a provoking message?" Lire didn't know what to answer to that. She had not told the others of the provoking message, especially when they told her that there was a provoking message from the Island to the Druids. All five prisoners were also consistent on the matter. However, Lire didn't want to bring this up. Not just yet.

"The Druids must've misinformed us." A council member stood up, yelling. "They must be planning on capturing our island and making it their home!"

"Pray tell us, Sir Crisval, as to how you came to that conclusion." The elder asked. "We've received nothing but aid from the mainland elves."

Sir Crisval nodded. "As I speak, I request no one rebuke me yet. Allow me to place all my facts on the table before you start nitpicking it. Here's how I see it: The Druids must've been the ones to give us those misleading plans for invasion by the humans so that we will cut off all communications with them. They are in a good position to do so as well, considering that Elven Forest stands right next to the port that houses ships that will say to our island. By cutting off all communications with them, we would effectively no longer have reinforcements if we call for them. Now, they also sent the provoking message to secure that we don't have any more allies. We would effectively be trapped by our own fears. This way, the Druids can surround our island and attack us."

"Your idea has merit." Another council member nodded. However, Lire felt the exact opposite. It simply screamed to her that no, it is not possible. Ryan was the leader of the Druids. If she accepted this, she would be saying that Ryan was hatching a plan against them. But Lire knew she couldn't bring up the fact that the Druids received a provoking letter from them. After all, the council knew of her relations with the Druid's leader. She could be called a traitor and exiled from the island for supporting the enemy. Especially, since she didn't have any evidence of the provoking letter.

When Lire snapped herself out of her thoughts, the council was already finished nitpicking the Sir Crisval's idea. And to her dismay, Sir Crisval was capable of defending his logic. The whole council was now in agreement with Sir Crisval. Knowing she had lost her chance because of her delay, she already knew what she had to do. She needed to retrieve that provoking letter from Ryan to prove her friends' opinions. And she knew just how to get the council to let her get that letter.

Lire raised her hand. Though childish and would appear almost like a schoolgirl because of this, but she did. "Sir Crisval, what you say is very convincing, true, but there is also the point that you have no solid evidence on your part." This got the council's attention. Lire continued, "Even if I am the only one, I can't believe you, simply for not having solid evidence. Your whole theory is based on pure speculation."

Sir Crisval was irked. Lire was the youngest in their ensemble, yet she was the one who pointed out his theory's flaw. No evidence. Sir Crisval pulled out his best stern look and directed it at Lire, "So what do you suggest we do, Nova Lire?" Lire smiled; this is exactly what she wanted.

"I propose that we send someone into mainland and have a looksee in the Elven Forest. If the Druids were planning an invasion, then we should see them building some siege engines on their way." Lire smiled.

"So you're saying is that we send a spy to look around the Elven Forest?" Another elder elf known as Elder Ravio raised his eyebrow. "But what if that spy is captured? Will we really risk the life of an elf just to find evidence?"

Lire shook her head. "Even I know it's a fool's errand to spy upon the elves of the elven forest. Everyone in that forest is acquainted with one another. Thus, the idea is this: The ones we will send will be the Grand Chase that we have captured."

"WHAT!" Another elder elf yelled, outraged. "Are you mad! We will rely upon _humans _to solve _our _problems? That has never, and will NEVER be done in Eryuell!" A murmur of agreement spread through the council. Lire simply waved her index finger, as though speaking with a child.

"And that's why _I _will _personally _escort them myself, with a handful of my best archers." Lire answered. "The Grand Chase will enter the forest to get some solid evidence that will either support or deny Sir Crisval's theory."

Sir Ravio contemplated the idea. "And if the Grand Chase has betrayed and sided with the Druids?"

"If they do not return at all, we will assume that Sir Crisval's theory is correct and return immediately." Lire finished. She knew she had gotten all of their favors. They seemed to agree with the idea. But Lire still crossed her fingers, hoping that they will agree.

After a few minutes of conversation amongst themselves, the Council turned to Lire.

"Very well, Nova. Go inform the prisoners of this plan of yours. Lady Rieva, please prepare a boat for Nova and the prisoners to ride upon. Give them enough supplies for a two-way trip. May Lady Eryuell bless you in your trip, Nova." Lire nodded, as she rose from her seat. She turned to leave. She had a Grand Chase to inform.

**(Special Prison)**

"So that's how you convinced them? Very smart, indeed, Lire." Knight Master said, pleased with the turn of events. Lire blushed in embarrassment. She was thankful that she had sent away the guard.

"So you expect us to walk in, ask Ryan to give us that damn letter, and walk out, as easy as that?" Elesis raised her eyebrow. "That sounds as easy as putting your head into a lion's mouth and hope it won't bite. You need an incredible amount of luck."

Amy positively glowed with an aura that could break any form of gloom, "Well, Lire believing is lucky enough! And don't forget, I'm the Oracle of Lord Samsara! We are in his guidance!"

"Yeah…" Arme nodded, but it was obvious that she wasn't happy.

"Hm, what's the matter, Arme?" Lire asked her old friend.

"… Why did the Grand Chase boys decide to join Ryan's side? And why didn't they stop us when we declared that we would go to your side… I wonder… are we doing the right thing?"

"Of course we are!" Amy grinned. "There's a saying you know, Girls know best!"

"I'm pretty sure it was mother knows best." Knight Master sighed. "And none of us are mothers." The group looked accusingly at Knight Master, who raised her arm and waved it. "I'm still single! Don't look at me as though I'm lying!"

"But what if we are just playing into the boys' trap?" Arme asked. "I mean, Lass is an Assassin who knows traps even better than anyone else! Ronan is an eminent leader and an expert strategist! And Sieghart is smart enough because of his experience! Not only that, Ryan knows the forest better than anyone! This might prove to be a trap…"

"Why are you being such a pessimist, shorty?" Elesis snorted. Of course, this just incited rage among the duo.

"Hmph, I'm just being realistic, brick wall!"

"Knock it off before you yell the whole building down." Lire sighed, stopping the storm before it got any worse. "Arme, Elesis is right. We don't have time to think of negatives. Just thinking of negative may make it happen."

"Ok. I just hope we're not walking into a trap." Arme sighed, before she went into her bunk bed to catch a bit of sleep.

**(Mainland, Grand Chase Boys)**

"Are we ready?" A hushed voice asked.

"Yeah, Ronan. But I don't expect them to be here in another couple of days though…"

"Just keep watch at all times. Otherwise, our plan would just fail. Anyway, Sieghart, you're not supposed to sleep anyway, so this should be fine for you. If you're lucky, a few monsters will stroll past you for you to kill."

"Just keep me entertained, wouldja?"

**Chapter End**

And that's that. Read on and Review~


	9. Elven War: Girls vs Boys

**Chasing Once More**

**A teacher once asked me: "Many works of fiction said the moon as the cause of madness and evil. Others said it was a blessing, giving strengths and associated with purity. And many others presented it as just a rock in outer space, with absolutely no significance at all.  
>If that is the case, what is the moon?"<strong>

**My reply was: "The moon is a conniving trickster."**

**- Lunar Wave: ~A Lunatic's Reality~**

**Chapter 9: Elven War: Boys vs. Girls**

**(Boat: Fisherman Bob)**

"When you said we would ride a boat back to Bermesiah, you didn't mention we'll be riding this dumb ship again…" Elesis grumbled as the rest of the Grand Chase sat on the floor. Lire decided not to comment, as she crawled out of bed. She herself was shocked to find out that they would send them over to the mainland in a boat unfit for protection of any sort. It was a simple schooner. Meant for fishing rather than for war.

"Just be thankful that the council even agreed to this." Arme retorted to Elesis. Lire sighed. Whether she comments or not, an argument will still have to ignite. She mentally armed herself to stop any violent movements from the two, in case it happens. Fortunately for Lire, Amy decided to speak right then and there.

"Though we did have to leave Knight Master behind…"

"It's because the other elves don't trust you." Lire replied, looking over to her archer escorts. They seemed to agree with Lire's statement as they kept themselves alert.

"Land HO! We'll be at mainland anytime soon." Another elf called in from the deck. The girls were relieved. They didn't know how long they could last with the smell of fish that permeated through the hull of this ship. All members immediately rushed to the deck to spot the land. They could see a sandy beach and just behind that beach lay the green forest of the druids, the Elven Forest. The elven archers looked in awe at the forest. Their blood recognizes the place. Elven Forest is the ancestral homeland of every living elf in the world. Even the elves in Archimedia.

Once, all elves lived in the Elven Forest, until humans started spreading like wildfire. Elves too grew to such big numbers that the humans and the elves started to clash for land. A Human-Elven war spurted because of the lack of land. In the end the Humans won so the elves were forced to retreat. Not the Druids though. They were stubborn and refused to budge. The once vast Elven Forest was degenerated to a fraction of its size. But the Druids protected this one last fraction till the bitter end. Eventually, the humans decided to make a truce with the Druids, thus making it safe for them to traverse the forest without fear of hostility.

The other elves moved on. Many moved to the continent of Archimedia, but those who was still drawn to the Elven Forest resided in a nearby island, which was eventually known as Eryuell.

As Lire thought of the history of her race, she then remembered their current situation and yelled, "WAIT! There could be a trap there." Lire suddenly turned to the elf on the steering wheel. "Move the boat towards north and land near the shores that lead to the Gorge of Oath." The navigator immediately consulted the map and compass and, soon, the boat was moving to the North.

They landed on the shores of Bermesiah, just near the Gorge of Oath. Lire stationed three of her archers to stay with the boat while the rest of them walked on.

"It's a bit too quiet here…" Lire noted with a disturbed look on her face. This wasn't a good sign. The two archers that were with her were instantly on alert. Elesis and the others, on the other hand, were not even fazed.

"Well, it's been like that since the Druids got hostile on us." Amy said as they passed by some bushes. "Even peddlers dodged the forest so no one really bothers to stick around here anymore than they need to."

"It's that bad?" One of the archers asked.

"The Druids are VERY territorial." Arme replied.

"We're not THAT surprised." The other archer laughed. "They're one of the most territorial elves in history. Second place for those in Archimedia."

"Eryuell is still top though." The first archer shrugged.

"But you guys don't hurt others at the first chance." Elesis said.

"Well, what can we do about that?" Lire smiled. "We WERE in an era of peace a few weeks ago."

"Makes me want some more peace." Amy replied. "Hey, can you give me back at least my bag back? You're not planning on sending us in without a single weapon on our bodies, right?"

"Unfortunately, all your weapons are still in Eryuell." Lire sighed, with an apology.

"Sucks." Arme grumbled. She then pulled out a cooking pot. "This will probably have to do for now."

"Eh, where'd you get that?" Lire blinked.

"From the boat."

"My, my… you're finally here!" The group jerked around, searching for the source of the voice. It was certainly not one of them, so whoever it was, it was a potential enemy.

Lire took initiative, grabbing the megaphone from Mari's hands. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

"No need to get your bow in a twist, kid. I'm right up here." As soon as the word 'up' was mentioned, the group looked towards a cliff on the right. There stood a teenager, black haired and with a proud smirk etched across his face. Of course, everyone in the Grand Chase would've recognized this teenager. He who was a teenager for over 600 years.

"Aerknard SIeghart." Elesis recited for the archers to know. "Prime Knight of the Grand Chase." The archers nodded, drawing out an arrow from their quivers and preparing them on their bows.

"It has been a long time, Sieghart." Lire coolly said, preparing her Composite Bow. Sieghart was among the members that joined the Druids side of the battle, this much she knew.

"So why are you here, Sieg?" Arme asked. "Got bored in that little boysfest already?"

"Nope." Sieghart grinned. This wasn't good at all, the girls knew this the moment they saw that smirk. "You guys just happened…" Lire immediately heard rustling around her. The bushes nearby. She should have known. There was barely ANY plant life in the Gorge so…

"We… walked straight into their trap." Lire gasped. The archers gasped as well, immediately spinning around to see a red-haired man and a blue-haired knight just behind them, running straight with their weapons, a rod and a glaive respectively.

"Jin?" Amy gasped, seeing the Deva with his rod pointed out fiercely. She immediately grabbed for her Chuchu Bag when she remembered…

"AH! Our weapons are not with us!" Amy cried. Elesis herself seemed disoriented for not having the commonplace slab of steel anywhere nearby.

"That just gives us more advantage." Ronan said shortly.

"Hello Ronan." A voice from behind Amy sounded out, making Amy spin to the source only for a single bolt to sling past her face and towards Ronan's face. Jin immediately countered, striking away the arrow. Lire had initiated the counter-attack, shooting as many arrows as she could at the duo. Lire immediately went forward, in an effort to protect the unarmed members of her team. As she jumped to dodge a smack from Jin's rod, she immediately noticed a rope just in front of her.

"Huh?" Was all that escaped from her mouth as she was immediately bound by an invisible force. She immediately saw Lass, with a dagger pointed at her neck. Her arms were bound and her Composite Bow lay uselessly at Ronan's feet.

"LIRE!" Elesis roared, pulling out a stick from the ground and rushing to strike Ronan in an effort to get back the weapon. However she was pushed back by what she noticed as a summoning circle. Soon, a dragon stood above the group. Lass jumped onto the Dragon, with Lire in tow.

"Hey, we're going to be borrowing your precious Nova for a while~" Lass had called.

Sieghart smirked, pulling out his Gladius. He then slashed at the group, breaking the two bows in the archers' hands.

"Ah!" The archers cried out, seeing their beloved weapons broken and useless. Sieghart laughed but stopped when he got a faceful of bombs, sending him hurling backwards. Sieghart spun to see the offender. Arme stood there reciting random incantations, trying to see if she still remembers her alchemist attacks.

"You sure grew, Arme!" Sieghart smirked. "To be able to use an ordinary item for your fights."

"Of course. I'm the Guild Master. It's expected of me." Arme mumbled back.

"But unfortunately, you're going to go back to that isle of yours and do some replanning." Sieghart then pointed towards the sky, where the dragon flew. They could all make out Ronan, Jin, Lass, and the hostaged Lire on top.

Elesis glared at her ancestor, kicking a rock at the Gladiator, which he simply dodged. He then jumped up the cliff and air dashed onto the dragon. They were soon flying in the direction of the Elven Forest.

"As quickly as they arrived, they disappeared." Elesis snarled, holding the stick and snapping it into two. She then tossed it in frustration.

"Ou-!" A voice was heard on the left side. Mari immediately nodded and jumped into action, summoning a cannon out of nowhere. The cannon threw a flurry of iron orbs at the bush. A blitz of orange and green immediately exited, seeing the assault. Arme immediately blocked his way. In front of them stood Ryan, the Vanquisher from Elven Forest.

"Ryan." Arme snarled, taking out a single bomb from her pot. But Ryan seemed to not be in the mood to fight.

"I give up." Ryan raised his arms above his head. He was unarmed.

"What?" the first archer was shocked. This was the first time she saw a Druid, and he was giving up?

"Do you speak for your whole elven tribe?" Elesis asked, picking up the other half of the stick and pointed it at his eyes.

"Nope." Ryan smirked. "I am their leader, Elesis, not their support pillar. Even if the leader falls, you can't say the same for everyone else. Besides, Magnus Dan still lives, just old and tired."

"But WHY are you giving up?" Amy asked.

"There was something I needed to ask the Eryuell Council about. But I also knew that if I set one foot on Eryuell soil, a hail of arrows will greet me. Not fun." Ryan jokingly added. The archers glared at him, shooting daggers from their eyes.

"Kidnapping our Nova is not helping your situation."

"But it gets me on the island."

"Maybe we won't let you get on the island." The second archer grabbed an arrow from her quiver and pointed the head just near his neck.

"Puh-lease, you need me as a bargaining chip. Me for Lire."

"Then we bargain, right now!"

"Not happening, girly." Ryan laughed. "Protocol: you consult the Council for every decision made." Ryan then pulled out a rope from somewhere.

"But I'll be fair, tie me up, and do whatever you want. Take my weapons if it makes you happy." Ryan shrugged as Amy jumped into action. As Amy tied up the Vanquisher as viciously as she could, the rest searched for Ryan's weapons. Arme finally found them peeking out of the bush. She silently motioned for Elesis to grab it. Elesis looked appalled that she could just order her around, but seeing as she was the one with the weapon, she just begrudgingly grabbed the weapon. She tossed them to the archers, who grabbed them carefully.

"You win. We take you to our island, and you're going to explain everything you need to explain." They soon started marching back to shore with gloomy faces. But suddenly, a piece of paper flew from Ryan's clothing. Ryan gasped.

"Hold up, can you grab that paper for me." Ryan struggled from his binds. "I need that!" Elesis snarled. She immediately dropped the boy, for she was carrying Ryan all this time, and started running.

"I didn't come here to be everyone's fetch-me-girl!" Elesis cried, racing after the paper and snatching it out of mid-air. Elesis looked at the paper. It was an envelope apparently, sealed by red wax.

"Could you hold onto that for me, please?" Ryan asked. "I would REALLY appreciate it."

"Ryan, just what are you up to?" Arme asked.

"You'll see." Ryan replied. "You'll see."

**Chapter End**

Review, please~ it would really help, somewhat. I apologize for the short and somewhat lame chapter, but this is really all I could do for now.


	10. Elven War: Ryan's Goal

**Chasing Once More  
><strong>by Lunar Wave

Obviously, I don't own Grand Chase.

**Elven War: Ryan's Goal**

**(Eryuell Island)**

The Grand Chase has returned to the island to deliver the news of Lire's capture, as well as their capture of Ryan. The elves received them with harsh looks and angered faces, but when they pointed out that they did not have weapons to fend for themselves, they simply turned away in anger. The council allowed them a rest of one day after the event, but they were to appear without delay to the council room to review the case.

"You lose Nova Lire but you captured the enemy leader." A councilman mumbled. "I don't know whether I should be distressed or pleased with you."

"I think we should be distressed more than we should be pleased."

"Huh?"

"The Composite Bow is a weapon only Nova Lire had been capable of mastering. And that is after a series of practice. To raise another one like Lire would take at least centuries…" Another councilman sighed. The Grand Chase was slightly confused at this. All Lire did with the composite bow is reload a magic arrow and pull the trigger. Why would elves have a hard time mastering it? They didn't voice this out.

"A century is short for an elf, anyway." Amy quipped.

"But not for humans." An elf coldly replied to her.

"She's a goddess, if you must know." Ryan mentioned in passing. Everyone just simply glared at him. "What?" Ryan blinked.

"That joke is in rather bad taste, as it came from the mouth of the leader of the group who abducted Lire." Elesis grumbled.

"As far as I'm concerned, I don't know why you Eryuells are angry at us Druids to begin with." Ryan replied flatly. "You started the war, after all." This caused a jerk among the group. Outrage was imminent.

"What in Hell's Furnace are you spouting now!?" This was the message everyone immediately threw back at the Xenocider, with many, many variations, most of which were in elven tongue.

"That letter I made Elesis hold on to was practically a declaration from you." Ryan once more replied. Elesis groped for the paper again and pulled it out. However, being written in Elven, Elesis tossed it over to Knight Master, who handed it with respect to the Elven Council Leader. The Council Leader didn't expect much from the paper until he saw his own signature scribbled across the bottom of the page. Then he read it seriously.

"I do not remember writing this!" The council leader roared. He then recited the words written in Bermesian.

"_Dear Elven Tribe of the Forest,_

_Regarding the invasion, we, Eryuell Island, will not support you. We have done a council meeting regarding it, and have received unanimous decision that decided that we will send no reinforcements to aid you in repelling the enemy forces. We must secure our island at all costs, even if that cost is your lives. At any rate, you Druids, with your rash and absolutely haphazard attacks, will just simply destroy the steady formation of archers, and as everyone knows, our archers are too important for us to squander on your cause._

_Signed by,_

_Council Leader"_

"And whoever wrote it has a very stupid choice of words." Ryan remarked. Another joke in bad taste; he noted, and shook his head and formed his face into a serious one. "The Eryuell abandoned us. So we did our best to protect our forest, until the Grand Chase arrived and disillusioned us of the invasion. We were misinformed. Armed with this information, I immediately concocted a plan to try and inform the Eryuell of this information. But it appears that Eryuell believed we were on the side of the humans. So, I simply allowed myself to be captured, so I can personally speak with the council head."

"We received a similar letter from the Druids." Another councilman scowled and asked a servant to take the letter and be given to the Avenger. Ryan indicated that his hands were tied and cannot grasp the note itself. Elesis hammered a sword she borrowed from a knight suit nearby onto the ropes. Ryan stretched his hands as blood flowed into them freely once more. He took the letter and started remarking on everything he sees on it.

"Wow, it's a while since I saw my own handwriting!" Ryan grinned. "Especially since it's used to write sentences I would never write in my whole life~"

"_Dear Council of Eryuell_~" Ryan smirked. "Wow, that one just felt bad on my tongue. I'll never write that. That should've clued you in already. All my letters were addressed to Lire, and I never write or even plan to write to one to you folks." The council grumbled. This was another reason why Lire was part of the council. The Druids were somewhat against the idea of speaking on equal terms with the Council, and Ryan would always send personal messages to Lire, instead of the Council. The natural consequence was all of Lire's letters from Ryan were forwarded to the Council.

When Ryan discovered that, he started sending normal letters on a weekly basis. Lire was soon blushing in that time frame, as her letters were commonly read by the council, and she demanded that the letters were to be directed to her again so that she can filter personal messages and information Ryan wishes to forward to the council. When a wedding proposal was sent over, her rights to her letters were restored, but the two's relationship was now the hot topic of the area. But that's an entirely different story. Lire had refused the proposal to prove a point, knowing that Ryan simply sent it as a joke.

"Damn it." Another Eryuell council member scowled as Ryan nitpicked every sentence in the letter, and pointed out that the signature looked like a copy as well.

"Moral of the year:" Arme mumbled, "poor communication kills." Everyone in the room whole-heartedly agreed. Then Arme remembered something. "Then why did you kidnap Lire?"

Everyone was once more on Ryan's throat. "To prevent you from killing me on the spot."

"Ryan. I'm sorry to tell you this, but… You're not the sharpest tool in the shed." Ryan was offended at this statement by Knight Master. "Who planned this whole thing?"

"Sieg." Ryan replied. Elesis made motions of strangling air, as though Sieghart was right in front of her. "On a side note, the Druids don't know this information yet, so… Well, I hope Ronan and the others can convince them to keep Lire as a temp hostage for exchange." The council collectively looked at Ryan.

"What do you mean?" This was more statement than question, as he was starting to dread what he was saying.

"Uh... Huh?" Ryan stopped mid-sentence as he looked up top to see a firebird flying about the ceiling, looking for something or other. He saw the message and wondered what its about.

"Arme, is that your Sidtri?" Ryan nodded to the roof. Arme looked up, noticed the bird, whistled, and took the message from the foot and read the message.

"You planned all this out, didn't you…" Arme mumbled. Ryan grinned. Arme sighed and summarized the letter to remove the more personal part of the letter. "Basically, they are asking for the exchange of hostages. Lire had somehow convinced the other end and the Druids are willing to make amends."

"Hooray!" Ryan laughed. "All's well that ends well!" The others simply looked at Ryan and sighed. The jokester has returned.

**(A Few Days later, Mainland)**

"And that's how it happened." Ryan told the story over the dining table in the recently installed port on Kerrie Beach.

"You guys are screwed up." Arme scowled, throwing a fireball in Sieg's direction just to prove her point. SIeghart has finally succumbed to sleep, and the fireball did little harm to him. The relations between the two elven lands have been restored, and honestly, it appeared as though nothing happened. But now they needed to do something else now.

"The original plan is to allow for an all-out war… But Lire decided to convince everyone on our end instead." Sieghart shrugged.

"Your plan would've caused more bloodshed than necessary." Lire pointed out. "It was relatively easy to convince the others for the switch of strategy."

"And Ryan never really went along with plans so in the end, everyone just agreed." Jin grinned. Then he turned serious. "Whoever is doing all this, they are specifically targeting us, the Grand Chase." Jin mentioned. "Interecepting of messages, creating false information."

"Some people are just that dumb, I guess." Lire nodded. "But I never thought that the Eryuell Island would allow me to travel with you again."

"Likewise with me, Arme, Lass, Jin, Ronan, Elesis, agh, most of us I guess." Ryan replied. "But this seems to be an odd threat that is endangering us again. It was the relatively logical choice."

"That would seem to be the case." Ronan nodded. "We would endanger more if we stick around. It's best if we would go to the source of the problem."

"We beat Berkas, for crying out loud. It should be simple enough, don't you think?" Elesis asked, crossly. "We'll beat whoever is doing all this trouble."

"But I wonder? Who would be our enemy this time around?" Arme asked.

"I have a guess." Lass mentioned. The people turned towards him. "Arme, remember the incident that caused our two guilds to be in an impossible war?"

"You mean the attack on the mages and the thieves?"

"That happened in Kaze'Aze's Castle." Lass replied. The others knew this. "We found the Serdin Queen there too." That they didn't know.

"Zeazeka… an anagram of Kaze'Aze" Ronan mentioned.

"Wind is Kaze in some other language. So Windzea fits that too." Knight Master nodded.

"Too many links." Ryan growled. "And the fact we are specifically being targeted is proof enough."

"She came back, and she has a grudge."

"But how?" Arme asked. "Is it possible for her to have been revived?"

"She's colleagues with the general of hell." Elesis replied with a matter of fact tone.

"That place gives me the creeps. Can I go home then?" Amy asked. The other simply looked at her with condescending looks.

"No."

"Our first target shall be Kaze'Aze's Castle." Elesis shrugged. "If anything, we could find out a bit more there."

"If that is the case." Lire nodded. "I just hope the Eryuell Elves won't be too out of order when I get back."

"So, let's hit the hay." Ryan stretched. "Sieghart already beat us to it."

"Right." Ronan nodded.

Knight Master nodded. "I'll go back to Serdin, to report this matter to the Queen. All the necessary factions will also be informed."

"Then, we'll take a ship to Ellia, and traverse by land to the Castle." Ryan sighed. "Now would be a good time for that self-propelled cart, Mari."

"It is still in development when we left."

"Too bad." Ryan nodded.

"Good night everyone."

**Chapter End**

I'm sorry for uploading such a short chapter. However, I do know what I want to do next so the next chapter should be uploaded within a week or so. Don't worry too much. I needed to end it there, since this is just an exposition chapter anyway. Hiatus over. And I started playing GC again, so all's well that ends well.


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